A Free Spirit: Chantal Swiszcz’s Journey From The Coast of Spain to the Pioneer Valley

Growing up on a naval base in the small town of Rota on the southern coast of Spain, located just 30 minutes from Cadiz, UMass senior Chantal Swiszcz, probably never thought she’d end up playing college tennis in Amherst, Massachusetts, a rural town in Western Mass.’s Pioneer Valley.

For Chantal’s father, however, the thought of his daughter playing Division I tennis for his hometown Minutemen, represented something much more.

Stanley Swiszcz grew up in Chicopee, Mass., just south of Amherst after his family had moved to America during the Holocaust in the mid-1940s.  Mr. Swiszcz thought that playing college tennis in the states signified a tremendous opportunity for his daughter, and subsequently set out on a relentless effort to get his daughter recruited by UMass coach, Judy Dixon.

“Her father chased me around from match-to-match when Chantal was in high school in Spain, and kept telling me that he had a daughter who would like to come to UMass,” said Dixon.

There was, however, a slight problem.  Chantal was not nationally ranked in her native country, nor had she had any prior tournament experience, nor even a tennis record.

“She was going to be a hard sell to any program because she didn’t have a background that we could sort of look at,” added Dixon.

But Mr. Swiszcz was unrelenting.  He followed Dixon’s Minutewomen wherever they had a match.  No matter if the match was just a few towns over in Amherst, or a two-hour drive to Boston University, Stanley was there.

Finally, his hard work paid off.  He told Coach Dixon that Chantal was moving back to America, making her a possible in-state student at UMass.  This meant that Dixon could save nearly $10,000 by offering a full scholarship to Chantal because her family would be living in Massachusetts.

Eventually, Dixon looked over the recruiting tape that Chantal and her father had made and decided to offer the young woman from Rota, a full tennis scholarship.

“I honestly had no clue what college athletics was about because they don’t exist at universities in Spain,” said Chantal, “but my dad really wanted me to experience college tennis because he thought it would be a great life experience, so I took his word for it and accepted the scholarship since I really love the sport.”

Chantal’s career at UMass has been nothing short of amazing.  The senior has compiled a 56-27 record with junior doubles partner, Yuliana Motyl, while netting a 17-4 record this past spring.

“She is probably the finest doubles player that we’ve had in all my 20 years that I’ve been coaching here,” said Dixon.

After missing her freshman year due to injuries, Chantal’s win-total puts her at No.7 on the all-time win’s list for UMass women’s tennis, a remarkable accomplishment considering she’s only played three seasons in Amherst.

Looking to the future, Chantal is still undecided on her plans for after college.  While her fallback plan is to live in Boston for a year, Chantal hopes to attend graduate school back in Spain, mainly located in the areas of Madrid, Barcelona, or Sevilla, to study immunology.

Regardless of what she decides, Chantal is confident that her experiences in Amherst and the relationships that she’s created along the way will help mold a successful future.

“I don’t think I could have done it without Yuli and coach Dixon,” said Swiszcz.  “Yuli and I always give each other all that we have, while coach makes sure you never give up, and has definitely made me not only a good player, but a good person.”

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The Ethical Dilemma Behind SEO

            Search Engine Optimization, SEO, is a tool that helps companies in their advertising by increasing the positioning of websites in search engine results via optimization of keyword density and designing links on the site.  This creates more “hits” or user visits, which in turn increases the popularity of the company itself.

            Although SEO can certainly help increasing brand awareness, there are some ethical dilemmas that are brought about when using the product.  SEO will essentially do anything in its power to enhance the visibility of a site, whether it be by creating junk articles just to create visibility in a Google search, or by using false keywords to help drive users to content, in the case of the “ground zero mosque” dilemma. 

            The story centers on, “the site of a proposed Islamic center and mosque that is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area,” yet, some sites are still using “ground zero mosque” as their keyword for better search engine optimization, although the practice is unethical.

            “It may be inaccurate, but if that’s what the public is searching for, then using it speaks to what they seek,” Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, explained in an email. “Once they arrive they can be further educated.”

            The major problem here is that “having the words in the exact order of the phrase that people are searching for, and putting that in the HTML title tag, is exactly what improves their Google ranking,” Sullivan said.

            This creates an ethical dilemma for news organizations.  In order to compete with their competitors, they sometimes have to choose between being ethical and finishing last, or being unethical and finishing first.  I suppose it’s a question of morals, and what really matters to the company.

            In today’s digital age where breaking news is attainable instantaneous virtually no matter where you are at any given time, the competition between news organizations is heightened.  This accounts for a greater deal of reporting errors that results from the fear of not being the first one to break a particular story.  Pick any major news story over the past two or three years and there is probably at least one significant reporting blunder to go along with it (Gabby Giffords, New Town, or even this past week in the Boston Marathon Bombings).

            While new organizations can create ethical guidelines for their reporters to follow, the truth of the matter is that this dilemma simply will not go away.  With technology always growing, the instantaneous nature of news reporting will only worsen. 

Lifestyles Radio: A Terrific Multimedia Piece by the NY Times

            I recently watched a multimedia piece on the New York Times website featuring Lifestyles for the Disabled in Staten Island.  The piece centers on their vocational program that gives disabled adults the opportunity to practice their communicating skills on the radio.  Corey Kilgannon wrote the article, while Emma Cott provided the visuals. 

            The New York Times does a great job of distinguishing between the two elements of the multimedia piece, ultimately staying away from any sort of boredom on the part of its viewers. 

            The video focuses on the basics of what Lifestyles for the Disabled is, giving a brief overview of the programs motive, while also giving some background of a few of the participants in the program. 

            Some elements of the video that stood out to me in particular were its use of L and R cuts, as well as very good transitions and b-roll.  One part that stood out to me was around the two-minute mark that showed a company van traveling from their own studio to WSIA, at the College of Staten Island.  While the b-roll was playing, Cott was explaining how the program has transformed over its two-year existence, from merely a podcast just for family and friends to now a radio broadcast show on WSIA-88.9. 

            Another part that stood out to me in the video was an effective use of transition around the 1-minute mark.  Over some nice b-roll of participants speaking on the radio in Lifestyles own studio, Cott is explaining that most of their members on the air have autism spectrum disorder.  This clip is then followed by Burak Uzun, Lifestyles Media Department Supervisor, explaining the disorder and how the spectrums differ. 

            The article titled, “Autistic and on the Airwaves,” does a great job of giving the more in-depth details about the program as well as highlighting each individual member and what their personality brings to the radio station.

            Those diagnosed with autism usually have extensive knowledge of a particular subject that seems almost uncanny to the average person.

            Michael Halbreich, for example, has a strange ability to instantly remember the day of the week that any date in history fell on.

            Kilgannon also goes into great detail of how the program has evolved over time.  At first, Lifestyle’s Radio Host, Joel Richardson, was simply looking for a place for disabled adults to get a break from their jobs, and build confidence in their communicating skills through podcasts.  After Lifestyles installed their very own radio studio, Richardson then realized that some of the podcasts were actually really funny, and began looking for a station to take his show on the air. Just this year, Richardson’s wish was granted, as every Tuesday from 1-2pm, three members of Lifestyles are on the air talking about subjects that they are interested in on WSIA-88.9. 

            Richardson admits that some participants need great assistance in writing their script, while others create all of their own content, a tribute to the wide spectrum of autism. The shows are far from perfect, but it does develop delayed adults into public life.

            “It gives participants valuable cognitive stimulation, and practice at understanding how people are perceiving them, and guides them to stay on topic, not to just serve the conversation,” said Lorraine Millan, behaviorist at Lifestyles.

The Aftermath Of Blarney Blowout: A Town and University’s Attempt to Control Off-Campus Partying

Since last spring, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been working on an initiative in coalition with the town of Amherst as well as the Amherst Police Department to take more of a proactive approach in the taming of the out-of-control off-campus party scene.

This year’s Blarney Blowout, the all-day affair in which students celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a week early before spring break, seemed to expedite the process.

“The problem now is that (off-campus parties) are becoming larger in scope, becoming more violent,” said Amherst Police Captain Christopher Pronovost.  “It’s begun to take a more serious toll on the students and on members of the community.”

According to Director of Media Relations at UMass, Ed Blaguszewski, two additional ambulance staff will be on duty until graduation, amounting to an estimated $40,000 in addition to the $300,000 the university already pays annually to the town in ambulance services.

Consequently, the university has since come to an agreement with the town to run patrol cars in-and-out of the major party areas on weekend nights that historically have caused problems.  These areas include Phillips St., Pufton Village, as well as the Townehouses, according to Captain Pronovost. The new forces will cost the university an extra $6,000.

“It’s Collaborative,” said Town Manager, John Musante, when describing the town’s relationship with UMass.  “I consider the university a partner with the community where we’re both heavily invested in each other’s success.”

Musante added, “There’s on-going efforts with our staff of 18 members including university leadership, landlords, community members, town staff, and the select board.”

While a more hands-on approach may appear to be a step in the right direction to university and town officials, many students believe otherwise.

“A better approach would be allowing things to happen, and then maybe mediating it, by having officers out so that the fear is there,” said junior Ian Hunter.  “You’ve got to work with us, not directly against us”

Perhaps a good omen for students wishing their voices were heard, Musante believes strong interaction with the student body is vital to creating a harmonious relationship between the town of Amherst and the university.

“I am 110 percent in agreement with the students,” said Musante.  “There is much more we can do, and I’m encouraged by some of the outreach we’ve had.  I’ve had some good dialogue with town officials and student government leadership.”

Because the heightened services are set to be used only until the end of the semester, both the town of Amherst and university officials have plans to reach an agreement for the long haul.

“We’ve had discussions about trying to develop a walking path for students that really is clear, so that they do not walk through neighborhoods, and through downtown, but would traverse back through the main thorough fairs back to campus, creating less noise,” said Blaguszewski.

While any number of initiatives or coalitions can be put in place to help solve the issue at hand, first year Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy contends a lot of the weight falls simply on the students, themselves.

“Ultimately it’s on the students,” said Chancellor Subbaswamy.  “Student-to-student interaction is the best possible way to prevent these sort of things from happening.”

The Chancellor added, “Students need to spread the word that these types of activities are not okay, and realize that they have a great deal at stake ensuring the reputation of the university.”

Although Pronovost agrees with the Chancellor that rowdy behavior can always be restrained through student-to-student interaction, the Captain would like to see UMass offer some sort of alternative to students of age, giving them a place to drink safely on campus.  The problem stems, according to Pronovost, from when students are forced to relocate off-campus due to regulations on campus.

“Students come off-campus, most of the time in residential neighborhoods where there are families living there,” said Pronovost.  “These homes are not equipped to handle hundreds-of-thousands-of-people, and it becomes a safety issue.”

This past weekend marked the first in which the new restrictions by the town and university were put into play.  After quickly being kicked out of a large gathering on Hobart Lane, as students attempted to resurrect the old, “Hobart Hoedown,” seven policemen seized control of yet another “quad party” at the Townehouses around 1pm, exiting some 400-500 UMass students out of the area that had made the trek over from Hobart.

Police cruisers continually drove in-and-out of the major party areas throughout the day, making sure everything was under control, and that large groups of students would not return to those areas.

“I don’t think they’re wrong for trying to prevent large scale parties, but trying to prevent any partying at all is kind of ridiculous,” said junior Mike Loughery.  “It’s the first really nice day out in a while, kids are just trying to enjoy the spring day, and they aren’t letting us.”

While some students may not be particularly happy with the way the day turned out, it’s simply something they’re going to have to get used to, as the town of Amherst and UMass continually work together to crack down on off-campus partying.

Brett Canepa’s Road to Recovery

UMass men’s soccer junior captain Brett Canepa discusses his LCL tear along with his road to recovery.