Massachusetts
Understanding the role Massachusetts played in both developing and resisting eugenics – The Boston Globe
As a former highschool historical past trainer, I can consider few subjects which might be extra necessary for younger individuals to check than the horrifying historical past of eugenics, the elimination of sure “undesirable” traits within the human race below the guise of public well being and “race betterment.”
Beacon Hill now has the chance to take steps that can make it potential for educators, college students, and most people to grasp the position Massachusetts performed in each growing and resisting that concept.
The Senate has handed a funds modification primarily based on laws put ahead by Senator Mike Barrett and Consultant Sean Garballey to fund a first-of-its form fee that can examine the historical past of state establishments for these with disabilities. If created, this fee, which might be led by disabled individuals, will undertake historic human rights work, together with figuring out the names of hundreds of individuals buried anonymously in institutional graves.
On the identical time, these lawmakers have put ahead laws (H.3150/S.2009) with Secretary of State William Galvin to make sure that a lot of these names might be made public, and that the fee’s work might be supported by residents who’re at the moment prevented from accessing historic paperwork.
Massachusetts was the primary place in America to supply public training to kids with mental disabilities and the primary to embrace the concept individuals with psychological sickness deserve humane state help. However within the late nineteenth century, these concepts morphed. Scientists, medical doctors, educators, and policymakers created an intricate community of surveillance and segregation, eradicating disabled individuals from their communities, usually to forestall them from having kids. Establishments for individuals with mental, developmental, and psychological well being disabilities — known as state colleges and state hospitals — had been the facilities of this exercise.
Based mostly on my analysis, the Catholic Church saved state-sanctioned sterilization at bay, however our techniques attracted individuals fascinated about these concepts. They visited from everywhere in the world. Once they returned dwelling to their international locations, they turned what they noticed into insurance policies starting from Britain’s legal guidelines on “psychological defectives” to the Nazi Holocaust.
In Massachusetts, a community of establishments housed tens of hundreds of individuals. When my college students interviewed former Governor Michael Dukakis in 2019 about his visits to those locations within the early Sixties, his eyes welled. He described them in phrases akin to focus camps.
Throughout that point, a exceptional coalition of moms fashioned and fought again, launching a rights motion that led to federal intervention, main institutional reforms, and a still-contested means of deinstitutionalization.
Many individuals don’t know this historical past, and there are few methods for them to be taught. State restrictions impede entry to paperwork from these establishments in perpetuity. In consequence, there isn’t any official report of what occurred and little method for lecturers to attach this historical past to what’s already recognized.
In the meantime, hundreds of individuals have tales to share, questions on ancestors who had been residents of those state-run hospitals that want answering, and knowledge that they’ve a proper to know. Every day, I obtain e-mails with two questions: How do I get paperwork about my household and the way do I help this work?
My expertise educating project-based incapacity historical past means that there are millions of educators and college students who really feel the identical and can contribute to such an effort as citizen researchers. The subsequent era will get it. They need to assist, and comparable crowdsourcing efforts have labored nationwide.
However for that to occur, the laws supported by Galvin is required, as a result of it permits for public inspection of paperwork on deceased people after 90 years. Massachusetts is an outlier amongst states in its prohibition on historic data entry, which is why distinguished teams just like the Massachusetts Historic Society help this variation.
Its influence on the work of a incapacity establishments fee is especially acute. With out it, the fee’s efforts to find people in nameless graves will likely be for naught, as a result of the general public will solely be allowed to see lists of blacked out names.
That is laborious work. However the Legislature ought to move the invoice. Harvard College — the place I train — is doing that work, reckoning with their historic position in constructing and perpetuating slavery.
The Commonwealth can do the identical with its historical past. The general public is able to take this up. Dozens of incapacity and historic teams are dedicated to supporting this effort, which can strengthen the collective data wanted to construct a powerful, caring, educated, democratic society. The Legislature has the prospect to satisfy that groundswell with open arms, and it’s a likelihood that should not be missed.
Alex Inexperienced teaches on the Harvard Kennedy College.
Massachusetts
Thursday’s six biggest high school takeaways, including a Gatorade award and a new all-time leading scorer in Saugus – The Boston Globe
While Newton North claimed its third straight Division 1 championship in the fall, on Thursday Sasha Selivan became the first Tiger to be named Gatorade Massachusetts Volleyball Player of the Year.
“Sasha is in a league of her own as far as Massachusetts’ setters go,” said Bishop Feehan coach Heidi Bruschi. “No one else I’ve seen comes close.”
The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore led the Tigers to a 24-1 record with 673 assists, 133 digs, and 115 kills. In the Division 1 final, a 3-0 win over Brookline, she recorded 26 assists and four aces. Selivan is ranked as the nationals’ No. 128 player in the Class of 2027, according to PrepVolleyball, and was the Division 1 tournament MVP and a Division 1 All-State selection.
She maintains an A average in the classroom and volunteers locally as a youth volleyball coach and mentor.
2. DiBiasio keeps scoring for Saugus
While Saugus assistant coach Norma Waggett watched, junior Peyton DiBiasio broke her coach’s all-time program scoring record by netting 27 points to surpass the mark of 1,100 Waggett set in 2013. Saugus lost, 51-40, to Minuteman to fall to 5-2.
3. On to college
In Danvers, St. John’s Prep announced 18 college commitments across eight sports:
Football
Merrick Barlow (Newburyport) to Naval Academy
Graham Roberts (Swampscott) to Harvard
Baseball
Will Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) to Harvard
Nic Lembo (Danvers) to High Point
Lacrosse
Charlie Angell (Winchester) to Pennsylvania
Ryan DeLucia (Winchester) to Georgetown
Luke Kelly (Marblehead) to Michigan
Cameron McCarthy (Marblehead) to Loyola Maryland
JP Sullivan (Swampscott) to Saint Anselm
Jack Weissenburger (Marblehead) to Harvard
Sam Wilmot (Topsfield) to Richmond
Golf
Tripp Hollister (Sudbury) to Bryant
Cross-country
Daniel Padley (South Hamilton) to Holy Cross
Swimming and diving
Kye McClory (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Greg Santosus (Marblehead) to Virginia Military Institute
Tennis
Luke Prokopis (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Jack Prokopis (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Track and field
Noah Kabel (Swampscott) to Sacred Heart
4. Western Mass shuffle
Lots of league movement in Western Mass, particularly in football and girls’ soccer. Check out the reporting from Jesse Koldokin at the Eagle Tribune and Gage Nutter at MassLive.
Here’s the Cliff’s notes version: Chicopee Comprehensive and Holyoke will leave the AA League and be replaced by West Springfield and East Longmeadow. The Tri-County loses Springfield International and gains Belchertown.
In the Suburban South, Wahconah is joined by Pittsfield, Putnam, and Chicopee Comprehensive. The Suburban North will feature Taconic and South Hadley, plus Hoosac Valley, Lee, Easthampton, and Holyoke.
The Intercounty South sees Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield International, and Northampton join Commerce and Frontier. The Intercounty North remained unchanged.
In girls’ soccer, the Berkshire League’s Grieve division will be Drury, Wahconah, Pittsfield, Lenox, Monument Valley and Mount Greylock. McCann and Hoosac Valley move to the Pioneer South and Taconic, Lee, and Mt. Everett move to the Tri-County North.
5. Thursday’s leaderboard
The top scoring performance of the night came in a defeat as Jacob Klass dropped 35 points for Beverly in a 77-73 loss to Gloucester that saw Nick Deleon score 26 for the Fishermen.
Minuteman’s Muji Vader nabbed 11 steals and added 24 points in a 63-19 win over KIPP Academy, sophomore Divine Egbuta led Lynn Classical with 26 points in a 58-46 win over Somerville, and Notre Dame (Hingham) junior Elle Orlando packed the box score with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals in a 72-35 win over Ursuline.
On the ice, Newburyport’s Olivia Wilson netted a hat trick in a 7-3 win over Stoneham/Wilmington and Justin Thibert delivered three goals for Shawsheen in a 9-1 win against Nashoba Tech/Greater Lowell.
Freshman netminder Suki ten Brinke saved all 18 shots she faced to record her first shutout of the season in Lincoln-Sudbury’s 3-0 win over Westford, and Central Catholic junior Sydney Foster made 21 saves in her first shutout of the season, a 7-0 defeat of Wayland.
6. Linked up
Before we bid adieu, a few things we’ve written recently, starting with Trevor Hass’s story on Bishop Feehan honoring the late local hoops legend Mike Babul by wearing black wristbands featuring his initials during a win over Bishop Fenwick.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
LUDLOW, Mass (WWLP) – Massachusetts State Police have released body camera footage from the arrest of Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi back in September.
The public is now getting a glimpse into the night of September 21st, when Sheriff Nick Cocchi was arrested by Massachusetts State Police outside of MGM Springfield. The night his state issued white Ford Explorer was found without a front right tire in the valet section of the garage.
The video shows the interaction with Cocchi and law enforcement as they are trying to piece together what happened.
“Yeah, ok, wanna go down that road, huh? ok,” says Sheriff Cocchi. The state trooper responds, “I want to take everything right by the numbers and by the books, sir.”
At first when asked who was driving, Cocchi said a friend, then later admitting it was him behind the wheel. The trooper also saying he can smell alcohol, asking Cocchi how much he had to drink. To which he responds he had “a couple beers” when he was at the Springfield Country Club, but nothing at MGM Springfield.
Cocchi also declined a field sobriety test, multiple times.
Since the incident, Cocchi says he has taken full responsibility for his behavior.
“I’m not looking for empathy or sympathy. I’m not looking for people to give me a pass. All I’m asking for people to do and all I’ve said that I am is human, and I have integrity, I have honesty, and I have character. And I will always try to be the best version of myself, and that night I wasn’t,” said Sheriff Cocchi in response to the video release.
In regards to that night, Cocchi praises the troopers, saying throughout this process, he should not be treated differently from anyone else.
Cocchi also said quote “Since the incident, I have done everything possible to show the public that I believe in transparency and accountability, especially in myself.”
He said at the Sheriff’s Department, they believe people are not defined by moments like these, but rather how they handle those moments.
Travel
One saw record-breaking attendance in 2024.
If you attended The Big E or the Topsfield Fair this past fall, you were in good company.
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These New England hotels, restaurants, and more are ‘must visit spots’ in 2025, according to USA Today readers
Both Massachusetts fairs ranked among the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, according to Carnival Warehouse. The list was ranked by attendance.
“2024 contained very positive indicators that North Americans have rekindled their romance for midways, outdoor shows, agricultural programming and food-on-a-stick,” wrote Carnival Warehouse on its website. “Most fairs saw increases over last year’s attendance, only 12 top-50 fairs saw decreases, most of which were nominal and all of which were due to weather.”
The Big E (the Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield ranked No. 4 with an all-time total attendance record of more than 1.6 million visitors. Seven other daily attendance records were also set this year at The Big E, including an all-time single day attendance record of 178,608 visitors on Sept. 21. The Topsfield Fair, at No. 40, saw 418,170 visitors.
Running since 1916, The Big E is New England’s biggest fair. The fair brought live musical acts, carnival rides, agricultural competitions, and food vendors this past September. All six New England states are famously represented on its grounds.
The Topsfield Fair, America’s oldest agricultural fair (running for more than 200 years), featured carnival rides, food, live music, rodeos, art shows, exhibits, and nearly 300 vendors this past October.
For those looking to help boost attendance in 2025, this year’s fair dates are Sept. 12-28 for The Big E and Oct. 3-13 for the Topsfield Fair.
North America’s No. 1 fair in 2024 is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which saw 2.5 million visitors.
Check out the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024.
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