ROTC attends FTX weekend

Members of the University Of New Hampshire’s ROTC program spent the weekend of Oct. 26 at Fort Devens, Mass., for the program’s fall Field Training Exercises (FTX). From Friday through Sunday, the cadets participated in vigorous tasks that put their mental endurance and leadership abilities to the test.


Cadets from 11 New England universities are members of UNH’s ROTC program. Twice a month, UNH cadets are given the opportunity to train with some of their fellow soldiers from these comrade schools, but rarely have the chance to operate with all of them at once.


“I like training with the UNH cadets,” said Colby-Sawyer College senior Cadet James Brown. “I have friends all over the state now. I’ll know the cadets here throughout my whole career, and I don’t have to stay up at Colby-Sawyer in the middle of nowhere anymore.”


Although the weekend is overseen by cadre and officers, it is predominately run by the ROTC seniors, who are responsible for organizing assignments for the juniors to lead, and evaluating them on their performances.


“It’s about team building,” said Maj. Joshua Stringer, the battalion commander in charge of overseeing the FTXweekend. “We have cadets here from all over the region, and this is the first time we get to come out here and really bond and share an experience.”


Cadets were divided into squads of underclassmen, led by juniors who were placed in the position of squad leader.


“This weekend is all about prepping the juniors for the Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC),” Cadet Staff Officer Meghan Grant said. “We evaluate how well they’re doing and what they need to work on.”


LDAC is considered the centerpiece of the U.S. Army’s ROTC program. Also known as “Advanced Camp” or “Warrior Forge,” the 29-day course at Fort Lewis, Washington, comprises intense physical, mental and tactical training exercises.


ROTC juniors will attend LDAC next summer, before their senior year. The evaluations they are given at LDAC will make up for 30 percent of their undergraduate training assessments – the other 70 percent of which is acquired over the course of three years. FTX is designed to be a mock version of LDAC, on a smaller scale.


“Last year FTX taught me how to remain calm,” Brown said. “There were so many different variables thrown at us. You learn to stay calm and react accordingly.”


This year’s FTX weekend began the morning of Friday, Oct. 26 at the field leader’s reaction course (FLRC), an intense obstacle course that a squad must navigate according to a particular mission. Tasks generally include moving large equipment such as fuel drums, as well as all members of the squad, to the opposite side of the course.


“They do things like figure out how to get everyone in the squad from post to post without touching the ground, or the ‘hot lava,’” Maj. Justin Strevig explained, as he walked the perimeter of one particular FLRC.


Throughout the weekend, other exercises included night land-navigation, during which cadets must find coordinates throughout the woods in the dark, and most importantly, STX lanes (Situational Training Exercises).


UNH junior Cadet Raymond Miller waited to be briefed on his first of three STX lane operations Friday afternoon. He prepared to direct his squad through a hypothetical ambush situation – a tactically organized surprise attack in the woods on two enemy soldiers.


“You receive a mission in a specific format,” Miller said. “Then you brief that format back to your squad and tactically move through it to where you set up the ambush.”


With intense focus, Miller diligently took notes as a senior cadet briefed him on the mission. Using a terrain model kid, Miller then gave each member of his squad orders and grid coordinates.


“When we’re traveling, if we get indirect fire we yell, ‘Incoming!’ and hit the ground,” Miller said to his squad, as they conducted a rehearsal. “We’ve got to be loud out there.”


Miller’s voice reverberated over his squad as he gave them the op-orders —important for receiving a good evaluation.


“In an ideal situation, you should know who the squad leader is without even being told,” Grant said. “It’s like when you walk into a locker room and know who the team captain is because he’s the one getting everybody pumped up.”


Miller and his squad began marching through the woods in full gear with unloaded guns. After approximately an hour and a half, they came upon the enemy soldiers: two sophomore cadets hiding out in the woods. After the squad pretended to shoot them, the two cadets played dead while Miller’s squad properly searched them.


“I felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness because I got to lead a squad in a mission and because I’m being watched by an evaluator,” Miller said, reflecting on his first STX lane. “But by the end of the weekend I felt less nervous and more confident in each lane.”


The evaluations that the juniors receive from LDAC next summer will largely determine what positions they will be eligible for in the army after they graduate, and the FTX weekend is crucial in helping them prepare.


“FTX definitely helped build confidence and leadership skills that will help me when I go to LDAC,” Miller said.


UNH’s ROTC program ranks six out of 41 other schools in its brigade, due to exceptional leadership and training programs that prepare cadets for LDAC and their futures in the Army.

“We give the cadets all sorts of leadership experiences that the average college student simply doesn’t see,” Strevig said. “And that’s our goal: developing these leaders.”

Election excitement surges through campus

Election frenzy took over campus all day on Tuesday, as students walking to classes were stopped and asked if they had voted, or if they were planning on voting. From the commuter lot to the Memorial Union Building, almost every inch of campus was covered in campaign posters, messages in chalk, student volunteers and shuttle buses to the polls.

Students for Obama (UNH College Democrats) provided students on campus with free transportation to the polls, and were joined by other supporters of the president as they inundated campus with “Get out the Vote” messages. Although many of the volunteers sported Obama signs, they advocated primarily for students to get to the polls and to cast a vote.

“It’s the next four years of our lives,” said Michaela Barry, a volunteer. “I think it’s really important for students to vote because we’re going to be out in the real world soon dealing with these issues.”

Barry had been in front of the MUB since 6 a.m., handing out free T-shirts and donuts, and providing students with voter register information to direct them to the shuttle buses.

College Democrats organized for two coach buses and six minivans to drive around campus from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., providing students and faculty alike with rides to Oyster River High School, where they could register to vote.

“Earlier this morning there were around 2,000 people coming to the polls from campus,” Barry said. “Most of them have been Obama supporters, but we do have Romney supporters coming over to us because they don’t have rides to the polls. We want everyone to vote.”

Almost all major areas of campus were decorated with Women for Obama signs and Students for Obama signs, alongside larger posters that had information on how to register and where people could find transportation to the polls.

One member of College Democrats stood outside Hamilton Smith Hall, talking to students about the issues and waving a sign that read, “VOTING IS LIKE SEX. (It’s wicked easy).”

“People are really excited,” the member said. “I’ve been talking to people about the differences between the two candidates and letting them make their own decisions. If someone is going to vote for Romney I still give them a fist-bump, because voting is too important not to do.”

UNH students weren’t the only ones eager to get involved in the election Tuesday. Twenty student volunteers and members of College Democrats from Harvard University in Massachusetts visited UNH to participate in a New Hampshire election.

Harvard students Ben Zauzmer and Alex Wirth stood in front of Horton on College Way, stumping for Obama and asking people to head to the polls.

“A lot of us are here because we support the president,” Zauzmer said as he directed a group of students to a shuttlebus.“ And others are here because they want to make sure as many people as possible get out and vote.”

Zauzmer said that he is an Obama supporter, but that it is more important to him that people vote, especially in New Hampshire, because it is a state that is so important to the presidential election.

“New Hampshire is the state,” he said. “It’s the biggie, and we can’t get to Ohio. It’s not usual in New England that there’s a swing state other than New Hampshire, so it really is the place to be.”

Zauzmer is not a member of College Democrats, but said that he decided to join his roommate, Wirth, who is a member of the organization. Wirth said he was optimistic about the UNH voter turnout.


“Over half the people I’ve talked to have already voted today,” Wirth said. “Which is exciting since it’s only noon. This is a key example of how young people can make a difference in this election.”

Amtrak Downeaster adds two stops to schedule

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) has announced that on Thursday, Nov. 1, the AmtrakDowneaster will be adding two new additional stops to Freeport and Brunswick, Maine.


The Downeaster currently makes five daily round-trips between Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts to 10 destinations: Portland, Old Orchard Beach, Saco and Wells in Maine; Durham-UNH and Exeter; and Haverhill, Woburnand Boston, in Massachusetts.


UNH Campus Planning Director Stephen Pesci said he is organizing an inaugural party for the new services.


“I encourage the UNH-Durham community to be at the platform on the morning of Nov. 1 to welcome the Downeasterduring its whistle stop in Durham,” Pesci said. “It’s a great chance for us to show our support for the state of Maine and this great service, now used by over 50,000 UNH-Durham riders a year.”

UNH and the Dairy Bar will provide refreshments and music at the event. Souvenirs and gifts will be given away upon the 10:41 a.m. train arrival, and attendants will have the opportunity to meet with members of the Rail Authority.


The extension provides members of the UNH-Durham community with access to more of Maine, and to connect with places such as Bowdoin College in Brunswick and L.L. Bean in Freeport.


The Downeaster has had record-breaking ridership numbers since 2005. The service generated over 528,000 riders in Fiscal Year 2012, and that record has already been broken for the Fiscal Year 2013.


Train passengers are currently able to make reservations for the new stops online, as well as to purchase multi ride passes, including the College 6TIX pass.  Visit AmtrakDowneaster.com for more information on ticket purchases and the inaugural event on Nov. 1.


“UNH and the Durham community are proud to be host to America’s favorite train,” Pesci said. “And we look forward to expanding service and destinations in the years to come.”

Reporting fairly on deadlines

In the last week I’ve had my first two experiences with deadline pieces. On November 6, election day, I was assigned to cover a story on the polls. However, since there were already TNH reporters at Oyster River, I decided to find something fresh instead.

I walked around campus for a couple of hours, seeing what I could find involving the election. After initially seeing a student ferociously yelling at passing students to get out and vote while sporting a huge Obama sign, I figured there would be something interesting as far as public support for candidates on campus goes.

I started off talking to all the Obama supporters on Main street. I talked to at least five within 20 minutes. I needed to find Romney supporters.

I couldn’t find a single one. I even found 20 Harvard students who came to UNH to stump for Obama. The campus was littered with college democrats, but I couldn’t find one single college republican. 

I even went as far as harassing people in the MUB for the groups information. All they could give me was a general email.

So, I went home and did some Facebook stalking. I found the group’s page, and messaged the officers relentlessly. 

I only got one response. The student asked me what I wanted to know, and I responded telling him I just wanted to talk to him about what his organization did on election day in terms of involvement. (The student I messaged was the group’s president.) He never responded. 

So, I was forced to write an article that completely focused around democrats on campus, and students for Obama. I tried as hard as I could to make it seem objective and unbiased, tying into my article how the student dems just want people to vote, and how Romney supporters were given rides to the polls, but I wish I had more information.

I guess the article, in a way, reflected how the day went. I talked to many Obama supporters and volunteers who said that because of their overwhelming influence on campus, they swayed voters who were undecided, or even in favor of Romney, to vote for Obama. But part of me wonders if that’s right. 

I guess my biggest question, is when you’re reporting on a deadline, how do you possible get to all the sources you need to get to? How do you gather all the information, when 90% is how determined you are, but the other 10% is if a source will even speak with you? How do you write an article that is still fair?

Election day

With only a few hours until the election, I'm staying off twitter and Facebook, my phone is turned off, and I'm watching DVDs of Friends to avoid commercial programming.

I can’t handle another commercial, campaign call, or obnoxious social networking post about the candidates. 

Each election season seems to get crazier and crazier. Has my interest level just increased as I’ve grown up, or have the campaigns become more and more entertaining? 

People complain about religion and all the problems it causes, but I think people, namely American’s, just love to hate each other and find reasons to argue. If it’s not religion, it’s a sporting event, and every four years, the presidential elections get more and more heated.

During the eight nights of Halloween, as I like to call it, I’ve seen Romney’s, Obama’s, and girls dressed as binders. 

Even though I think it’s great that so many college students are getting involved in this election, I wonder what kinds of problems that may pose at Oyster River High School. Will lines be so long as they have been in the past that students will turn away? 

What is an "undecided voter"?

After watching the third and final presidential debate last night, I was once again flooded with discussions on who won, which way it will sway the undecided voter, and who might win the independents. 

I don’t get it. And I’ll keep my political opinions to myself (although I’m sure I make it apparent during my uncontrollable twitter outbursts), but how are there people out there who are seriously still undecided?

Here we have two political candidates with two totally different philosophies. Do people really not know their own minds, and beliefs? Why is there all this talk about swaying the undecided voter? I get that presidential debates are important, but this late into the election? It’s all pageantry in my opinion. I enjoy watching them, but I can’t see anything occurring that will change who I am voting for in November.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the people who are undecided, are simply unaware. With less than two weeks until election today, that’s a little scary. How can someone possibly follow up on the entire campaign and educate themselves in time to cast a vote? And if they haven’t yet, why would they bother to try and figure it out now?

I’ve met some of these people. They say they are going to vote, they just don’t know for who yet. Is it just me, or does this issue seem to be way more prevalent in this particular election? 

Student organization looks to plant organic gardens throughout campus - The New Hampshire - The University of New Hampshire's Student Newspaper

Edited version in The New Hampshire: Student organization looks to plant organic gardens throughout campus - The New Hampshire - The University of New Hampshire's Student Newspaper

If all goes according to plan, UNH students will be able to enjoy a series of organic gardens emerging throughout campus this spring, thanks to a new student organization.

“I would like to see multiple gardens rather than just one large garden,” said UNH Student Planning Organization President, Tom Brown, “It would be nice to see dorms sharing gardens, and students getting together and hanging out outside.”

The organization is hosting a Garden Charrette on Sunday, Oct. 21, as a part of “Food Day.” At the event, students will have the opportunity to discuss the possibility of a community garden on campus.

The event will be an interactive forum, during which members of the campus community can share their ideas for creating a sustainable, organic garden.

“We’re doing it as a part of food citizenship month,” Brown said. “We’ll have campus maps so we can all collaborate on an open space.”

Members are collaborating on the event with Get Real! UNH--a student group dedicated to bringing local, humanely produced, and organic food to the community.

“The Student Planning Organization's contribution to the Month of Food Citizenship is imperative,” said Get Real! UNH President, Evan Girard, “they play an important role in the planning and development of socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable local and regional food systems.”

Food citizenship month promotes a just and sustainable food system that benefits the community and environment alike. Members of the Student Planning Organization believe that incorporating organic gardens into campus will reinforce those principles.

“It will help better the community, promote sustainability, and get people more involved,” Said member Ashley Roz. “I think it’ll definitely bring something new to campus that gets the community involved working toward one common goal.”

The Charrette will be the first step in the design and planning process. Students organizing the event hope to designate and map out spaces for a potential garden. The idea of multiple gardens will also be discussed.

UNH senior Courtney Wolf is excited about the event, and thinks that gardens would be a great addition to campus. 

“I love going to Prescott Park in Portsmouth,” Wolf said. “It’s beautiful. There are flowers everywhere, and there are places you can sit and enjoy it. It would be really cool to have mini gardens like that on campus.”

Prescott Park is also well-known for its seasonal gardening themes--an attribute that Student Planning Organization members feel would be important to incorporate into campus gardens.

“Some thing’s we’re working on now is where we can plant gardens,” Roz said, “and what we can grow and how to keep it sustainable throughout all of the seasons.”

In addition to designating feasible gardening spaces, certain guidelines need to be met. Gardens will need to be near a water source, and within walking distance from central campus. Right now, the Congreve lawn is being discussed as a viable option.

“There would have to be an organization that oversees the running of the gardens,” Brown said. “You don’t want people arguing over space, so a regulating body is needed to keep people happy.”

While Get Real! UNH is more of a sounding board for the organic gardening aspects, the Student Planning Organization is arranging the planning process, which includes finding resources, sponsors and local support.

“This is really a grassroots movement,” said Faculty Advisor Mary Friedman. “This is a group of students asking what do we as students want, and who do we reach out to as resources so that we can actually do this.”

The organization has arranged for several speakers to present the benefits of the project on Sunday, including a member in charge of Durham’s community garden at Wagon Hill, and UNH’s own Professor Kelly Cullen, who teaches a localvore class. Campus Planning Director Stephen Pesci has been invited to the event as well.

The organization has received strong support for its community-growth initiatives since its establishment last year. Members have worked on numerous projects centering around sustainability, community planning, and urban development.

“They do regional projects, watershed projects, urban gardening, and much more,” Friedman said. “It’s so diverse. Last year they did the inventory for moped parking and helped with organizing it.”

Although the organization is comprised of mostly students from the environmental planning, tourism planning, and the environmental conservation and resource economic programs, it is open to students in all areas of study.

The overarching goal of creating the organization, was for members to network, gain applied experience, and most importantly, connect with each other and the community.

“It’s really incredibly diverse, and that’s what planning is,” Friendman said. “It’s about creating better environments for people to live within.”

The Student Planning Organization is the quintessential group of students who are taking what they learn in class, and applying it in a hands-on way that benefits both themselves and society.

“A lot people don’t know about the club because we’re a new organization,” said member Andrew Ricchetti, “but we meet every week to find new ways to work with the university and the students to get the word out and plan for a better community.”

Students can attend the Garden Charrette on Sunday at 2 pm in G54 James Hall. Those who attend can contribute to a new garden project that will begin in spring, 2013.

“I’m really excited to start planning this,” Ricchetti said. “I hope we get enough support from members of the community to make this actually happen. I really think it will be a great way to bring the student body together.”