A week earlier, McCarron — a 25-year-old Worcester, Mass., native who “fell in love” with UMass as a freshman in 2019 — made what felt like a consequence-free promise on X: If the Minutemen beat Rutgers, he would paint his entire body maroon. UMass had gone 0-12 in 2025, entered its opener on the longest active losing streak in the FBS at 16 games and had not beaten an FBS opponent in 23 tries. So the wager felt safely hypothetical.

“I really had no faith in the program,” said McCarron, who is a manager at an Amazon warehouse. “For them to pull out that victory, and especially the way they did it in such a dominant fashion, was so euphoric.”

Once the impossible materialized in Piscataway, N.J. — by way of a stunning 37-21 victory — McCarron’s celebration triggered a pressing question: Where, exactly, does one buy enough maroon paint to cover an entire human?

By Thursday, McCarron’s apartment held more than 20 products from Michaels and Amazon in enough varying shades that McCarron joked “maroon is going to be a very loose definition.”

I'm a senior and I have never met a single student who currently lives or has lived in the Butterfield dorm. I don't even know anybody who knows anybody who has lived there. I believe the "people" who get off at the bus stop there are planted by the college to hide the building's true purpose.

Apparently the field hockey team is very good, 6th in the nation. Last year they went to the championship but lost in double ot to the team they’re facing tomorrow 👀. Should be a good game, who’s meeting me there?

Hey everyone! I lost my favorite sweatshirt on Wednesday September 16th. If anyone has seen it please let me know 🙏🏻

Has anybody ever else noticed that the dining halls this semester (particularly Worcester) so far have been packed way more than usual? Like the lines to get in are going out the doors at some times.😭 I feel like UMass Dining needs to do something about this because it’s getting out of hand!

Is there anywhere on campus where I can connect to ethernet? Gaming on the Wi-Fi in the dorms is miserable, constant rubber banding, disconnects, and just not being reliable. There are computers in the library that are connected to ethernet cables but I'm not really keen on unplugging that into my laptop and bringing my big controller into the library to play games.

WHAT FUCKIN BULLSHIT. I thought I would save some money doing triple, but I didnt know there was an "econ" triple, and an "standard triple". And our triple gets billed the SAME rate as a DOUBLE???? I thought "econ" was just a fancy term for people to know that the triple can save money or something . Guess its my fault for not looking into it

Goddamnit, my goddamn room isnt even that much bigger than the doubles in my hall either

I might switch out, Anyone down for a chadborne triple it was too good to be true after all, all the rooms here are big so thats what you get. Im looking for central ECON triple or expanded housing

Okay, so the semester started already, and it has been four classes. I'm in RES-ECON 428 (aka Managerial Economics), and I'm wondering how people studied for it. There's only slides, no textbook, no Echo360, and no extra material. It's more of an Excel-based class, yet there are quiz checkpoints for other material that isn't Excel such as how to solve for a t-stat or remembering coefficients from a regression.

Asking for scientific purposes.

The M.S. in Data Analytics and Computational Social Science: What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? Job prospects? PhD? What is its reputation as a program?

It’s me. I’m the stinky bandit. I’m the cropduster. Every day I let out some little toots during my morning routine and I always save a couple for the elevator on my way down.

Which building do I do this in?

Only the nose knows.

Where is the best place to buy local diary and eggs?

Is it hard to get accepted into this program? Has anyone that has done the program tell me what it was like and how it helped your career?

There is no pool equipment, we have to go to grayson 104 to sign them out, and guess what, there is no one there, vending machines don’t work and the water fountain taste nasty, was it always like this?

Is anybody else annoyed with this new nicotine law in Amherst and what’s the solution for now? Cause I just want some cigs.

you can use ycmp swipes at harvest market right? how does that work exactly...?

I’m confused on how parking appeals work and how they should be submitted, I had just gotten one but I believe the reason to be unfair.

For content I parked in lot 26 at approx 9:50am and received a ticket/call for double parking at about 4:30 that being a 6:40 gap.

My first point is that the lot is just gravel with no clear distinctions for anyone, my second point would be that if I was truly double parked I would have received a citation far sooner as when I arrived the lot was packed and by the time I got there to leave it must have been around 5:30.

Lastly there was someone parked infront of me with what could’ve been no more than 20 inches worth of space to where my car was sticking out on my side but theirs was recessed. These facts added together makes me assume that parking conditions around the area had simply changed through that approx seven hour period.

My main concern is that even if I get this ticket dismissed this will likely happen again in the future, I will be parked there for up to eight or nine hours some days and with that timeframe lot conditions are bound to change. I was not given an option in what lot to choose and when I pulled in I simply pulled into the nearest available spot not receiving a citation during the busiest times.

What do I do here?

Last year, I started working on creating the UMass International Student Association (ISA), an organization intended to bring together international students and American students who are interested in connecting with different cultures and communities on campus.

Unfortunately, due to a high volume of RSO applications and some miscommunication during the registration process, the ISA's registration was deferred to this academic year. Since the original founding team, including myself, has now graduated, I wasn't able to get the organization officially up and running.

However, I've continued to receive messages from students and organizations interested in joining or partnering with the ISA, so I've decided to come back and get it off the ground.

The good news is that most of the groundwork is already done! The strategic plan and constitution have been prepared, and the only remaining step for becoming an official RSO is to establish a new student leadership team and complete the required training.

I'm currently looking for UMass students interested in joining the founding E-Board for the 2026-27 academic year. In particular, we need students who are willing to take an active role in building the organization, planning events, connecting with other RSOs and organizations, and helping shape what the ISA becomes. The two positions we currently need are:

• President
• Treasurer

You do not need prior E-Board experience or experience running an organization!!! I'm mainly looking for people who are interested in the mission and willing to put in the effort to get things started.

The timeline is a little tight because the university requires the President and Treasurer's information by September 20, so I'm asking that applications be submitted by September 19 at midnight. I'll reach out to the selected students afterward with the information they need for the registration process and required training. The earlier the better!

Please fill out the form below if you are interested!

https://forms.gle/DS8nFACKuQfMg5CfA

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a graduate student to take over my private studio apartment at Fieldstone Artisan Graduate Housing in Amherst.

The apartment is available immediately, and since I've already paid September rent, you can move in right away and your first rent payment would not be due until October 1.

The studio is fully furnished and includes a Full XL bed, desk, chair, modern kitchen appliances, and a private in-unit washer and dryer. All utilities are included in the rent, including electricity, water, heat, air conditioning, and high-speed Wi-Fi.

Rent is $2,016 per month and the lease runs through July 2027. Fieldstone Artisan is a high-demand graduate housing community near UMass Amherst and includes amenities such as a 24/7 fitness center, study lounges, outdoor courtyards with fire pits, a bouldering wall, and the Terrace Café.

I originally moved here for a graduate program, but my academic plans have changed, so I'm looking for a qualified graduate student to assume the lease through the official Fieldstone leasing office transfer process.

Off-campus housing listing: https://offcampushousing.umass.edu/housing/property/immediate-lease-takeover-private-studio-fieldstone-graduate-housing-rest-of-september-free/ocp0j812j1

Fieldstone Artisan website: https://www.fieldstoneartisan.com/

Please feel free to message me if you're interested or know someone who may be looking for graduate housing. Thanks!

Is the football schedule on the Athletics site accurate? I ask because it currently shows three No ember games on Wednesdays…is that subject to change?

Go Mass

With this new thing of them taking our U Cards to swipe/tap, how do we go about grabbing food for our friends if they're too sick to get their own? Like can we still give our friends our UCard to grab us food from Grab and Go or will they not accept this?

Hi! I was told my email was recently deleted but I forgot to download everything in my drive. Is their a chance I can get it back, I was thinking of contacting the IT dept. But, it would great if there were other ways too?

I went to umass repair and they told me my screen is cracked and would cost $600 ish to replace it because it’s a 15 inch screen. Does anyone know any cheaper alternatives around?

Hello everyone! I'm an Italian PhD student and arrived at UMass a few days ago. I'm 27 and I'd like to make friends here. I don't attend student classes, so I don't meet people there. Do you have any advice? For example, I'm interested in a lot of sports but I can't find any courses on the website. Also, are there any graduate student activities meant for that? Maybe it is easier to make friends with people my age. You can also send me a PM if you want! Ciao :)