Bullying can occur anywhere, any place and with any kinds of people. Courtesy of ABCNews.go.com

Ever since I was little, I’ve always heard the same phrase, “Treat others like you want to be treated.”

No matter the age, it somehow would be brought up, whether in conversation with a friend, a school assembly or working with campers or students.

The source of the reason for it being brought up was for bullying.

At a young age we are taught that bullying is wrong and that we shouldn’t do it. Yet, it happens everywhere and we have grown up with being bullied or doing the bullying.

Bullying can range from vocal attacks like name calling and spreading rumors about someone just because they can, or physical violence, which includes getting beat up, wedgies and swirlies.

Luckily, even though I wouldn’t call it lucky, the worst I ever got when it came to bullying was the vocal kind and it usually was making fun of me for being Jewish.

As I have grown, I have learned to be the bigger person and disregard people’s ignorance and know that if I retaliate then they just get what they want.

Just recently, the sports world has put the spotlight on the Miami Dolphins and their hazing/bullying incident.

Offensive lineman Richie Incognito has been in the spotlight on ESPN and FOX for being accused of bullying and harassing fellow offensive lineman and teammate Jonathan Martin.

It all started when Martin left the team facilities after an incident that had teammates avoiding the lineman at lunch with no one sitting with him.

At first, most people were confused why a big professional player would walk out of a team because his teammates were playing a little joke.

But as we now know, after the NFL did an investigation of the team, Incognito was behind all of it and more evidence came out.

Voice messages were released that had Incognito yelling racial slurs and saying that he will kill his whole family. Incognito later went on to defend those voicemails saying that he didn’t mean to hurt him.

Hey Richie, what do you expect when you tell someone that you’re going to kill their family? A cake? A good laugh? A pay raise? No, you took it too far and are now facing the consequences.

But what I don’t understand about this whole situation is why fellow Dolphins players are defending Incognito.

They are all telling the media that there was no harassing going on with Incognito and Martin and that they were really good friends.

Have they not seen the evidence that is right in front of their faces or are they just as dumb as Incognito?

But I have a theory with this, Incognito is the star guard for the Dolphins and when the team loses a player of that caliber they have to make big changes.

Now let’s look  back in the day when the popular kids would pick on one kid because they could or that kid had ugly shoes.

Let’s say one of these popular kids gets in trouble or does something wrong and the unpopular kid is the only one to see it or know the truth.

No matter how much the unpopular kid will say the truth, the popular kid’s friends will make sure that he doesn’t get in trouble.

So if we incorporate that situation into what happened with the Dolphins, there really is no difference between the two.

The starting quarterback and other stars of the team defend the other “popular” kid and try and get the media to believe them.

But the proof is in the pudding and the voicemails and other evidence proves that Incognito is just a big bully and his friends are trying to get him out of trouble.

However, I’m glad that Incognito is finally being outed of who he actually is but I wish Martin would have done it in a different way.

As kids we are told if we get bullied or see someone getting bullied, we should tell a teacher or someone of importance.

But this is how kids’ are supposed to handle things and now as adults we are supposed to either hide it or just let it go.

Especially as guys we aren’t supposed to cry and just be a man and either fight it out or don’t let it bother you.

Most guys have real feelings and it’s hard for us to against the norm and show some emotion, even if it is a little sadness.

Martin is a prime example of what he shouldn’t have done. Instead of running away from his problems, he should have faced them head on and had an actual conversation with the person he was having a problem with.

If this had been done in the first place, right from the get go this would have never blown out like it did.

As men who play sports, we have this idea that, “I’m a tough guy and that I should never show any emotion about any of my feelings because that is what girls are supposed to do.”

I’m sure plenty of people think that if a guy who plays professional football is going out and venting his emotions is just not the right thing to do. Football is meant to be tough and rowdy, not let’s share our feelings time.

Maybe some players like to hold in their emotions and save it for the game, but sometimes too much hate can take a toll on a person and put them over the edge like it almost did with Martin.

As adults we have this great ability to talk to one another and be civil about it, well for the most part.

If you have two somewhat competent adults than you can have a normal conversation and work out your problems.

So, for those other athletes getting bullied and hiding it in, stop it. You are not doing yourself or your team any good. Make sure you talk it out and don’t run away from the problem, because all it will do is chase you no matter where you go.

Nwakamma was right behind Moore with 21 points in his 32 minutes of playing time. Courtesy of ESPN.com

The University of Hartford men’s basketball team played their season opener on Saturday at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. against the Quinnipiac University Bobcats in the Connecticut 6 Classic.

The Hawks ended up losing the game, which ended with a score of 82-77 in favor of the Bobcats.

The Hawks took an 11-point advantage in the first half.

Hartford junior guard Yolonzo Moore II scored 15 points in a twenty-minute stretch in which the Hawks went 17 for 31 in shots for a 54.8 percent shot rate.

Moore would finish the game with 22 points.

Moore had two three-point shots, which contributed to a scoring run of 10-0 in the first leading to a score of 20-9 in favor of Hartford with about 12 minutes remaining in the first.

Hawks sophomore guard Taylor Dyson got a three pointer with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half which stretched the Hawk’s lead to 13 points.

The Bobcats tried to cut into the Hawks lead with some shots of their own but the Hawks managed to hold onto a double digit lead going into halftime with a score of 42-31.

The game shifted in the second half however, as the Bobcats managed to gain a 15-point lead in the first 14 minutes.

The Hawks only managed to convert two field goals in that span.

In the final minutes of the game, the Hawks attempted a comeback as they scored 10 points out of the 12 scored in that span.

Following that run, their point deficit was decreased to seven.

With just over a minute left on the clock, Hartford was still down by six points.

Moore managed to convert two shots bringing Hartford within four points of tying the game.

Freshman guard Justin Graham managed to bring Hartford within one point after he stole the ball from Bobcats senior guard Shaq Shannon and made a three point shot.

The shot marked Graham’s first career points.

The Bobcats converted their final two free throws, which ended the comeback by Hartford.

Hartford junior forward Mark Nwakamma finished the game with 21 points.

Hartford and Quinnipiac combined for 64 fouls on the night.

Quinnipiac was awarded 48 free throws, 35 of which came in the second half.

Ike Azotam finished the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Hartford has not had much success recently against the Bobcats as they have lost seven games in a row and 12 out of their last 13 games against Quinnipiac.

Hartford’s all time record against the Bobcat’s stands at 5-17.

In last year’s season opener, Hartford lost to Quinnipiac in the Connecticut 6 Classic with a score of 65-61.

Bobcats senior power forward Ike Azotam scored 17 points and nine rebounds in that game.

Horanzy has accumulated 222.5 points and 201 kills this season. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com

This weekend the University of Hartford volleyball team, while on the road, added two losses to their record.

On Friday night, the Hawks dropped a 3-0 decision to the Binghamton Bearcats.

The opening set began with the Bearcats scoring and holding the lead until Hawks Horanzy and Louis broke tied it up with back-to-back kills.

The set saw six deadlocks between the teams before Binghamton took the set at a score of 25-19.

The second set started with a tie at five-all but after a Binghamton error, ace from senior Dionna Kirton, and a kill from junior Maya Louis, Hartford took the lead at 8-5.

It was a constant battle to the finish after Binghamton scored six points to tie and surpass the Hawks from their 13-10 lead.

But after the Hawks regained control at 20-18 off a timeout from Binghamton, they closed out the back and forth battle at 25-23.

Binghamton would continue this momentum into the next set and take the victory, 25-9.

At the top of the Hartford offense was Kirton alongside Louis, each with eight kills apiece.

Also adding to the Hartford attack with six kills was Lindsay Anderson, and having three kills of their own, were Jackie Tamburri, Sareeta Nethersole and Corinne Horanzy.

Hartford finished the match with 31 kills and 24 errors in 105 attempts giving them a hitting average of .067 for the match.

Leading the Hawks defensively was libero Paola Llerandi with 13 kills.

Tamburri finished with 10 total kills, earning her 15 double-double of the season and also had 24 total assists.

Tamburri is now 293 assists away from achieving the highest career assists.

On Sunday the Hawks were in action at the University of Albany in their final road match of the regular season; the Hawks falling in four matches to the Albany Great Danes.

Offensively, leading the Hartford Hawks and completing her 10 double-double of the season.

Nethersole finished the match with 14 kills and 14 digs while also adding seven assists.

Other hitters included Kirton, who was also in double digits with 10 kills, Hornazy with seven kills, and Louis added five of her own.

As a team the Hawks peaked in the opening set with 17 total kills, but finished with a team hitting average of .056 with 49 kills and 38 errors in 198 total attacks.

Tamburri finished with another double-double with 36 assists and 24 digs, only two lower than her career best but her season high so far.

Also part of the defensive effort, Llerandi finished with her rookie season best of 22 digs, while Corinne Horanzy added 15 digs as well.

The Hawks had seven total blocks in the match, lead by Louis.

Louis had three block assists and two by herself.

Albany would take the first set,  25-20.

In the second set it was a battle from the very beginning until the Great Danes took a 17-13 lead over the Hawks.

But Hartford quickly battled back to 17-17.

There would continue to be six more ties (13 total in the set) until the Great Danes took the set at 26-24.

The next set proved to be just as much of a battle as the last but off a kill from Lindsay Anderson, Hartford took the win of 25-22.

In the final set, Albany would take the win and the match at 25-14.

This gave Hartford an overall record of 10-18 and 4-8 for the American East Conference.

The Hartford Hawks return home to host their final two matches against Stony Brook Friday night at 7 p.m. and UMBC Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Reich Family Pavilion.

Mayza was one of three freshman to start the Hawks season opener against UConn. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com

This past Saturday the University of Hartford women’s basketball team lost their season opener to the defending National Champion UConn Huskies.

The Hawks lost 89-34 at the XL Center and were led by freshman point guard Deanna Mayza who racked up eight points with four rebounds.

Hartford began the game by making their first three baskets with Reaves making the first two layup opportunities.

Following a retaliation layup from UConn’s Stefanie Dolson, junior Amber Bepko made her first attempted three pointer of the game cutting the Huskies lead to 9-7.

UConn went on an 18-0 run until senior captain Alyssa Englert made a jump shot, which cut Uconn’s lead to 27-9. By halftime Hartford was down 55-17.

At the half freshman Alyssa Reaves finished the first 20 minutes with six points.

Following halftime the Huskies went on an 8-0 run until Reaves provided Hartford’s first points of the second half.

Harford pulled the deficit to 80-34 with 5:33 remaining in the game.

UConn finished the game by scoring the final seven points of the game.

Head coach Jennifer Rizzotti started off her 15 season at Hartford with starting three freshman.

She was quoted with saying,

“It came down to just making sure that we were doing what was right for this game and we decided at the end of the week that we needed to go with rebounding. Milana [Gilbert], Alyssa Reaves and La’Trice [Hall] have been our best rebounders in practice and in the preseason and I felt like Deanna [Mayza] has been our best point guard.”

Both Reaves and fellow freshman La’Trice Hall finished the game with six and four points.

Among the scoring leaders was sophomore Katelyn Skinner who came off the bench making two of her first three point shots finishing the game with six points.

The Hawks finished the game only shooting 27 percent over-all, only making 12 out of their 44 attempts.

Hartford also made only four out of their 21 three point attempts finishing with a 19 percent three-point percentage.

Although Hartford struggled with shooting, they finished six for eight on free throw attempts.

Hartford was dominated on rebounds by the Huskies with a 35-22 advantage.

Hall and Mayza led Hartford’s rebounding with five and four each.

Senior Milana Gilbert also finished the game with three rebounds.

UConn was led by Moriah Jefferson who tallied up 17 points and five assists.

Right behind her was Stefanie Dolson and Breanna Stewart who finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Stewart also was six for eight from the line and Dolson was perfect from behind the arc.

Hartford’s next game is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Loyola Greyhounds today at Reitz Arena.

Nethersole added 11 kills and helped in key plays in the Hawks win on Sunday. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com

This weekend the University of Hartford Volleyball Team split their two home matches.

On Friday evening, they dropped a three set match against the University of New Hampshire in the Reich Family Pavilion.

In the opening set, it was a back and forth struggle with four lead changes and 12 ties. But when tied at 12-12, the Hawks went on a 6-1 to gain a substantial lead.

However, after being tied up at 21, the Wildcats took the first set off of a Hawk error and service ace. They would use that same momentum to take the next set as well with a final score of 25-15.

In the final set in the middle a 5-2 run from the opposing team, Sareeta Nethersole stopped them with a kill and sophomore Chandler Goodwin entered the rotation and with Maya Louis had a double block.

Off a timeout at 22-21, the Wildcat’s scored three more straight points to take the match.

On the offense, Nethersole, Louis and Lindsay Anderson finished with 10 kills a piece. Anderson finished with a hitting average of .471, while Louis finished with a .444.

Junior setter, Jackie Tamburri, finished with 35 assists.

On the flip side, Dionna Kirton led the defense finishing with 15 kills, while Nethersole added 11 of her own.

Louis also finished with three block assists, leading the Hawks in that category.

The team was back in action again on Sunday afternoon as they faced off against the UMass Lowell River Hawks and took the match in three sets.

In the opening set, Goodwin had four kills in six attempts, and then with Kirton serving five consecutive points allowed the Hawks to take the first set at a score of 25-19.

In the second set knotted up at a 13-13 tie and the Hawks went on a run taking 10 of the next 12 points making the score 23-15.

Thanks to back-to-back kills from Nethersole and Lindsay Swan the Hawks closed out set with a score of 25- 16.

The final matched ended in a score of 25-13 where though the Hawks were down three points in the beginning with 10-7 the Hawks broke off and went on two runs, one with eight straight points to close out the set and the match.

Head Coach Alex Temkin told The Hartford Sports Network,

“We steamrolled through with good serving that helped us a lot. We scored a lot of points on our serve today.”

The offense was led by Nethersole with 11 kills for the match. Tamburri had a total of 31 assists and also led the Hawks defense with 10 digs.

The Hawks on a whole finished with a hitting average of .303 and UMass Lowell finished at an average of .058.

It’s important to Coach Temkin that the Hawks play at a pace that is consistent with their normal playing, as a coach, on timeouts he motivates and adds excitement to the game by encouraging his players to play at the level they are capable of.

The Hawks, because Binghamton fell to Stony Brook, in the words of Coach Temkin are, “in a traffic jam for fifth place” for the America East Conference.

The University of Hartford Hawks Volleyball Team now has a record of 10-16 overall and in the America East Conference, 4-6.

This week the Hawks hit the road to face their opponents. On Friday they take on the Binghamton Bearcats at 7 p.m. and they’re in action again on Sunday at 2 p.m. against the University of Albany.

The next home game for Hartford will be Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. when they play Stony Brook.

Fortunately for Hartford, the team will have many returning starters next season. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com

The University of Hartford Women’s soccer team faced off against the University of Vermont Catamounts this past Thursday in the America East Quarter-finals.

The Hawks went on to win 2-1.

With just under 10 minutes played in the game, Hartford got its first scoring opportunity. Junior midfielder Stephanie Santos served the ball into the box about six yards from the goal.

The ball was then headed by defender Amanda Hamilton but it went just right of the goal.

On their first corner kick of the night, the Catamounts made a run for the goal as freshman midfielder Paige Phillips took a shot on the goal from the opposite side of the box.

The Catamounts then got their second straight shot attempt at around the 20-minute mark.

Catamount freshman forward Nikki McFarland got a missed clear by Hartford, which she then shot off the opposite post for a goal, giving the Catamounts a 1-0 lead.

Within the next two minutes, Hartford looked to even the score as they took two shots on the goal.

Junior midfielder Chanel Johnson took a shot on the goal,   which flew to the right and was then followed by a shot from senior forward Arielle Aikens which gave the Catamounts keeper, senior Morgan Nichols, her first save of the night.

With 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Hartford gained another scoring opportunity.

Sophomore forward Elise Galipo got a pass from Johnson and then proceeded to get past a pair of defenders before firing a shot on the goal which Nichols blocked for her second save of the evening.

In the 37 minute, the Hawks got their fourth corner kick of the half.

Santos served the ball far into the box where freshman defender Caitlin Smallfield shot it into the upper right hand corner of the goal, which tied the game at 1-1.

It was also Smallfield’s first goal as a Hawk.

Hartford made two more shots on goal in the final ten minutes of the first half. Johnson attempted a header off a corner kick from Santos, which was blocked by Nichols.

The second shot came from Hamilton whose shot on the goal forced Nichols to make a stop.

Hartford went into the half with a 9-3 shot advantage over the Catamounts.

In the 59 minute, Santos got a free kick opportunity, which she managed to get over Nichols and stayed under the crossbar for the game-winning goal.

Santos got a corner kick a few minutes later, which was then headed by Hamilton.

The header went over the crossbar ending the scoring opportunity.

Hartford got one more scoring opportunity that night forcing Nichols to make her fifth save of the evening.

With the win over the Catamounts in the quarter-finals, the Hawks went on to face the UMBC Retrievers in the semi-finals at Retrievers Soccer Park on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The game ended with a final score of 2-0 in favor of UMBC.

Hartford had six shots on goal going into the half, a couple of which came close to getting past UMBC keeper, senior Lauren Kadet.

Eight minutes into the first half, Santos took Hartford’s first shot on the night on which Kadet recorded a save.

On the first corner kick of the game, Santos fired the ball into the six-yard box where Johnson managed to deflect it towards the goal.

The ball was blocked by Kadet for her second save of the night.

In the 13 minute of the game, UMBC sophomore defender Alexa Quaranta scored the first goal of the game.

Sophomore midfielder Nikki Boretti kicked the ball to her right at which point Quaranta shot the ball into the upper right hand corner of the goal.

UMBC’s second goal came in the 38 minute when junior defender Morgan Taylor took a shot from 30 yards out.

The shot was knocked down by the Hawks keeper, freshman Jessica Jurg, but it was over the end line and was ruled as a goal.

Hartford received another chance to score following UMBC’s second goal. Sophomore midfielder Sidney Spremullo took the ball down the field off of a restart and fired 23 yards from the goal, which just missed to the left.

With less than 27 minutes remaining in the second half, the Hawks had two scoring opportunities.

Smallfield attempted a header off of a restart from Santos, which went over the crossbar.

The second opportunity occurred when Johnson deflected a corner kick and fired a shot through four defenders from the six-yard box, which was then saved by Kadet.

The loss to UMBC marked the end of Hartford’s season, in which they held an overall record of 11-6-3.

Nethersole tacked on 10 kills in the Hartford victory. Courtesy of HartfordHawks.com

The University of Hartford Volleyball Team added a victory and a loss to their record this past weekend.

Friday Night, the Hartford Hawks claimed their second straight victory defeating UMass Lowell in four sets with scores of 25-12, 25-17, 18-25, and 25-22.

The Hartford Hawks attack was led by Sareeta Nethersole, who wrapped up the match with a total of 10 kills.

Nethersole was one of only two players, the other being Brooke Peterson of Lowell, in the match to finish with double figures, both at 10 kills.

Nethersole only had one error in 27 total attempts earning her a .333 hitting average for the match.

Finishing second in the team offensively Corrine Horanzy and Dionna Kirton both finished with six kills each.

As a team however, Hartford finished the match with 42 kills and 19 errors in 129 attacks, resulting in a .178 hitting average for the team on a whole.

Setter Jackie Tamburri reached her 11 double-double of the season finishing with a match high 32 assists and 12 digs. Also on defense, Horanzy and Kirton both finished with 14 digs respectively with libero Paola Llerandi finishing with 11 as well.

The Hawks also finished with a total of nine blocks, led by Nethersole and Lindsay Anderson with five block assists each, earning the second most blocks for this season.

On Sunday in New Hampshire, the Hawks fell to the Wildcats in three sets.

Leading the offense was Nethersole and Kirton, each with nine kills for the match. Kirton had the better average of .348 coming from one error in 23 total attempts.

However, Nethersole, along with her nine kills, also led the team defense with a team high of 15 digs.

Together with  Nethersole and Kirton, Horanzy added seven kills and nine digs to the Hartford totals.

Also on the Hartford Defense, libero Llerandi added her 11 kills to the mix, while setter Tamburri supplied eight digs of her own alongside her 26 assists for the match.

Next week Hartford will again be on the road. They look to improve their record first taking on the UMBC Retrievers at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18.

After, the Hawks will be in action again on Oct. 20 playing Stony Brook at 1 p.m. Hartford record now stands at 8-14 overall and 2-4 for the America East Conference.

Aikens has helped the Hawks on offense and defense. Charlie Kahn | The Informer

The University of Hartford Women’s soccer team continued play this past Thursday with a game against fellow America East Conference team, the Stony Brook Seawolves. Hartford won with a score of 3-2.

The game started off quickly as Hawks keeper Jessica Jurg made two saves within the first four minutes, both of which came from beyond the 18 yard box. She would end the half having gotten a third save as well. Junior midfielder Chanel Johnson tried to get the Hawks on the board with a shot however it went wide of the goal.

The Hawks had another scoring opportunity with a little over 17 minutes left in the first half when sophomore forward Elise Galipo tried to pass the ball to Johnson for a header into the goal. The pass was off though and Johnson was unable to reach the ball.

With a little under a minute left in the first half, the Seawolves scored their first goal of the night. Stony Brook junior midfielder Christina Casamassina scored her first goal of the season on a scrum in front of the goal after the Seawolves got a free kick opportunity.

Hartford got a free kick opportunity with a few seconds remaining in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Kristen McAdams served the ball into the box. After a few back and forth volleys, the Hawks had a chance to score with one second remaining in the half. Junior forward Sarah Velasquez made a shot from a few yards out that was blocked by the Seawolves keeper, Ashley Castanio.

Going into the half, the score was 1-0 in favor of the Seawolves.

Three minutes into the second period, Hartford tied the game with a shot from 40 yards out by Johnson who got her third goal of the season. The shot was well outside the box but the ball curved and got in just under the crossbar.

The Hawks scored again in the 55 minute of the game when Johnson received a pass from well down the field, evaded the defense, and took the shot on the left side of the goal, which the Seawolves keeper was unable to block.

With twenty-eight minutes left on the clock, Galipo tried to score on a shot from just outside the eighteen yard box but the shot was blocked by Castanio. Hartford got another scoring opportunity off of a free kick but the shot by junior midfielder Stephanie Santos went over the crossbar.

With a little over nineteen minutes remaining in the game, Stony Brook scored their second goal tying the game at 2-2 off of a shot by junior forward Queli Ornelas.

The game remained tied at the end of the second half and went into overtime.

In the 99 minute of the game, Johnson scored Hartford’s third goal of the night which was also the winning goal and her fifth of the season.

The Hawks then went on to play the UMass Lowell River Hawks on Sunday which resulted in a 4-0 shutout victory for the Hawks.

The first goal of the night came in the 17 minute of the first half as Johnson collected a rebound and shot on the net while River Hawks junior keeper Jane Hatzikonstantis was out of position.

The score remained 1-0 going into the half with the Hawks holding a 13-2 shot advantage over the River Hawks.

The Hawks second goal came in the 57 minute when junior midfielder Stephanie Santos served the ball into the box where defender Amanda Hamilton used a header to score the goal. Sophomore defender Erica Primovic scored the last two goals for the Hawks in the 61 and 65 minutes. Santos was credited with assists on all three goals.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 8-4-3 overall and 3-2-0 in conference. Hartford will play at Binghamton University on Thursday at 7 p.m.

It’s not just the Redskins whose name may seem racist towards Native Americans. Elizabeth Kramer | The Informer

During this past Sunday night game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, Bob Costas dove into the controversy of whether or not the name ‘Redskins’ is still a correct term and if it should still be used today.

Costas felt that the name is an insult and slur and that still using the name in the year 2013 is very racist of the team and the NFL.

Costas does in fact make a valid point, that if we were to use racial slurs meant for African Americans, Hispanics, Asians or some ethnic group there would be quite an uproar when attempting to make that a professional football team.

However, fans of the NFL have really not had an issue with the name, and commissioner Roger Goodell went as far to say that the name, “stands for strength, courage, pride and respect.”

I think that a lot of the negativity for the name is coming from the logo that goes on all Redskins merchandise.

It is clearly a Native American man and that is where the issue may have started. If there was another logo that didn’t depict the same image, then less people would be as concerned with the name.

The Kansas City Chiefs are clearly named after Native Americans but the logo they use is an arrowhead, and not many people are too worried about the negativity from an arrowhead. And no one has called them out on their name.

Is it because it doesn’t sound as racist?

Probably, but if you get rid of the name ‘Redskins,’ then ‘Chief’ should also go.

Growing up, I lived in a suburban town about twenty minutes south of Albany, N.Y. Our school nick name was the Silver Warriors, and even before that when my mom went to school, there was no silver, so it was just Warriors.

Clearly referencing Native Americans because our town originally was a large Native American tribe.

Some people were upset with that name, and in order to please both groups the color silver was added onto the name, and everyone went on with their lives. There were also other schools in the area named Plainsmen, Indians and so on.

And to be honest, no one really should be upset. It’s a name and it’s not doing anything to hurt anyone.

In reality it’s truly respecting that group of people who were originally there.

You aren’t going to make fun or do bad things to your school’s team name. You are going to respect it and stand for everything it means and has to offer you and everyone in that community.

Many of the people actually upset with the name, aren’t even Native American, they just feel that the word is racist and should not belong anymore.

But after doing some online research, I found that many Native Americans were not mad, but rather wanted to do more investigating on their own heritage and were proud that their ancestors were part of such a big organization like the NFL.

But how come everyone is getting only upset about the Redskins and not about other teams in professional sports. Has anyone heard of baseball’s Cleveland Indians.

That name might be just a little bit racist, but to most people, if they aren’t describing what a certain nationality looks like then there is no issue.

A nickname for the team is called the tribe, which obviously has to do with Native Americans.

Indians are now politically correct to be known as people from India and people originally from America are Native Americans and not Indians. So the Cleveland Indians should either change their name to Native Americans or change the name entirely.

Even the Cleveland Tribe would sound better because it actually represents the Native American community and is not using a politically incorrect word.

Luckily at Hartford, we don’t have an angry group of Hawks flying around telling us to change our names to something that appeases them.

Fortunately birds can’t talk and don’t have the ability to do this and we get to keep our name.

The fact that a good amount of people don’t truly care about the Redskin name and would rather let it continue to be part of the NFL.  It would also take a lot of effort and time for the name to change.

And let’s not forget about the money. New name means new logo, new everything and everything ‘Redskin’ has to be thrown away, which costs a lot of money.

We all know how much the NFL loves their money and having to waste all of that money just because a group of people don’t like the name is not at the top of their list. It’s most likely not even on the list.

We are in a very progressive era and racism is slowly dying out, which of course is a good thing. But to change a nickname like ‘Redskins’ could create a lot more controversy than it already has.

It has been about a month since classes started here at Hartford, and although it has only been a month, it is time for a break.

Now when I say it is time for a break, that doesn’t mean we should all skip class and actually take a “break.”

However, it is usually that time when most colleges throughout the country have a mid-semester break, or as most people know it as Fall break.

Now the counter-argument to having a fall break is that we already get Thanksgiving break.

However, Thanksgiving is towards the end of November and that is still about a month and a half away.

With the beginning of October starting, many students are starting to get their first exams and paper assignments.

I know for me personally, these past two weeks have been the busiest of my college career, based on schoolwork alone.

Yes, I have other activities I participate in that make me busier than the average student, however I haven’t been doing those other activities to the best of my abilities due to the workload I have.

I’m not complaining about the workload, because as a college student, I have come to expect a heavy workload. That doesn’t mean that I or many other students couldn’t use a couple of days off.

I know that our University starts later than most colleges. We started classes on Sept. 3, while most other colleges started the last week or second to last week of August.

However, we don’t get off for the Jewish high holidays that some schools do give off, University at Albany being one of the first schools to come to mind.

With Jews making up 33% of the school it is curious as to why we don’t get off a few more days, considering most of the Jewish students go home and end up missing class anyway.

Even if we don’t include the Jewish high holidays, we still had classes for a straight month with no signs of having a day off until Thanksgiving, unless another major snowstorm hits Hartford.

Wesleyan University, another Connecticut school, gives a three-day break, including the weekend, which makes five total days off for students.

I’m not asking for that many days off, but it wouldn’t hurt to give two days off, like a Thursday and Friday, or a Monday and Tuesday.

Heck, I would even be happy with just one day off and have a three-day weekend.

The point is, we need a break. So I ask the school administrators to please give us a Fall break in the future. The students need a break to be able to regroup so they can finish the rest of the semester strong. Also, I’m sure the faculty and staff wouldn’t mind a small break as well.

Forget about the government shutdown for now and lets focus on getting a Fall break for the students.