The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and the Western Mass Regional Office of the University's Small Business Development Center will present a financing workshop at 3 p.m. on May 16 in Northampton. The meeting was set up by Mass Ventures, the business community, and the Commonwealth, Chernoff notes. The head of the university's Black Caucus, and other highly visible African Americans on campus, have received death threats, sparking a more general protest over racial issues. An elite French college, Institut d'etudes Politiques, has announced an affirmative action program, the first such effort in France. Some college students and MBA graduates who thought they had jobs after graduation are being told to either delay reporting to work, or that the jobs they have been offered no longer exist.
Companies blame the economic slowdown for the actions.
UMass baseball coach Mike Stone says poor pitching was the cause of the Minutemen's loss to Boston College in the Beanpot tournament final on May 2 at Fenway Park. The baseball team defeated Hartford 13-1 at Lorden Field on May 3. The St. Louis Rams of the NFL have signed free agent Kole Ayi, former UMass star linebacker. The women's lacrosse team will need two upsets this weekend at St. Joseph's to retain its Atlantic 10 conference title. Kalia Holtz will return to the pitching corps of the softball team this weekend after being sidelined with shoulder problems.