Nov. 13, 2019

Nov. 13, 2019

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Volume C

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Est. 1929

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www.sjuhawknews.com

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The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University

BACK TO BACK TO BACK

St. Joe’s field hockey earns third consecutive Atlantic 10 title

The field hockey team secured their third consecutive A-10 championship title and fourth consecutive regular season title. PHOTO: BRIAN MCWALTERS/ATLANTIC 10

SAM BRITT ’20 Sports Editor

were three seconds left but I was like ‘We have the ball. Hug me.’”

The field hockey team is the first team in St. Joe’s history to win three consecutive conference championships. The final championship didn’t come without some hairy moments in the final minute, though.

“Even with five seconds left, it wasn’t really over because they were still within

our defensive circle,” senior goalkeeper Victoria Kammerinke said. “But once the final buzzer sounds, it was just crazy.”

This latest championship caps off a four-year run that has seen St. Joe’s go 38-2 against A-10 competition.

“I was really proud of the group,” Head Coach Lynn Farquhar said. “It was definitely a battle. Just because you are the higher seed doesn’t mean it is going to happen, you have to make it happen. I was just in the moment and really excited for this group. Especially these seniors who have been through a lot.”

Olenginski scored the lone goal in the Hawk’s victory 55 seconds into the second quarter. Despite a late push by Richmond, the St. Joe’s defense stood firm to secure the title.

“Endless hours of work have gone into this,” Olenginkski said. “We aren’t just breezing through. We put so much work in, not just on the field, but off the field working on our communication skills. It really pays off.”

A key component of that strong defensive play was senior back Kathrin Bentz.

Bentz was chosen as the A-10 Championship’s Most Outstanding Player for her role in shutting out the Spiders’ offense.

“It is a great souvenir,” Bentz said.

“For me it is all about the team. I couldn’t have done it without them. I like leading the way for the team but knowing that they are behind me really backs me up and gets me my opportunities.”

The team celebrates their selection into the NCAA Tournament. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

CONTINUED ON PG. 13

The seconds ticked down, from five to four to three. That is when it started to hit the St. Joe’s field hockey team that they were about to capture their third consecutive Atlantic 10 Championship in a 1-0 victory over the University of Richmond Spiders.

Sticks were tossed aside, stern com-

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petitive expressions morphed into gleeful smiles and the celebration commenced on Crenshaw Field in the aforementioned Richmond, Virginia.

“There is no feeling in the world like that feeling,” junior forward Jordan Olenginski said. “I ran up to [junior forward] Emily Henry and gave her a hug but she didn’t hug me back. She said there

OPINIONS

NEWS

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Public Safety to outsource escort services

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St. Joe’s community weighs in on campus racism

FEATURES

09

The magic behind the colored lights in Barbelin tower

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Nov. 13, 2019

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Report shows lack of women on board of trustees EMILY GRAHAM ’20 Managing Editor A recent study conducted by the Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (WNLI) on the gender gap in boardrooms of higher education institutions in the Philadelphia area reported the St. Joe’s board of trustees is 19.4% women.

St. Joe’s ranked at 18 of the 25 colleges and universities mentioned in the study.

The target percentage in the study was 30% women on the board.

The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University’s School of Business, in conjunction with the WNLI, an organization of female nonprofit leaders in the Philadelphia area, collected data on the gender and racial breakdown of governing boards at medical centers, colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area.

Carolyn Adams, Ph.D., former dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University and member of the WNLI, said the purpose of the study is to highlight the lack of diversity in governing boards and encourage change.

“We are working with people in non-

profit institutions across the nation to not only help them increase the number of women that sit on their boards, but also to increase general awareness of this as an issue,” Adams said. “There’s so little understanding or even awareness of these governing boards of nonprofit institutions.”

Adams said it is important for students and faculty at a university to know who serves on their board because of the impact the board has on the campus community.

“Those decisions about what kind of climate we want on our campus, those ultimately are decisions and policies that are decided on by trustees,” Adams said.

“These are all issues that really do affect the students’ experience.”

Laura Otten, Ph.D., executive director of the Nonprofit Center at La Salle University, said in order to fully ensure a positive student experience, the composition of the board should reflect the composition of the institution.

“There is a longstanding best practice in the nonprofit sector that says the boards of nonprofits should be reflective of the constituency they serve and the constituency they want to serve,” Otten said. “It’s

Data from “The Gender Gap in Nonprofit Boardrooms.”

really important that the boards of these institutions are diverse as well [as] reflective of the student bodies that they represent.”

Otten said having a diverse governing body improves the decision making capabilities of the board.

“Diversity of perspective, diversity of problem solving approaches, diversity of thinking patterns help a group make sure that it is achieving well thought out, well rounded decisions,” Otten said. “When a board is monolithic, it is depriving itself of these different perspectives that will help it make better, more well rounded decisions.”

Sarah Quinn ’89, MBA ’09, St. Joe’s chief of staff and liaison to the board of trustees, said diversity has been one of the board’s priorities for years. While other institutions give trustees three-year terms, according to Adams, Quinn said the governance and leadership committee, a subcommittee of the board of trustees, continuously reevaluates the needs of the board.

Quinn said while diversity has been a priority, there are other factors that play into who is selected to serve on the board.

“First and foremost, we look for people we know will be committed to the Jesuit and Catholic mission of the institution,” Quinn said. “Then we look for candidates who may have a specific skill set or knowledge that we feel might be good for the board based on the makeup of the other trustees at that time. One of the other things that’s important is that they’re willing to commit St. Joe’s as one of their top philanthropic interests.”

Jesuit representation also weighs heavily in the selection process, according to Gail Benner, public relations and media director at St. Joe’s.

“As a Jesuit institution, we want strong Jesuit representation, and so our numbers may never fully reflect that 50-50 percent exactly of our community, but valuing all kinds of diversity, thought and expertise and skill sets, and trying to make the most of that mix on the board is really what we’re after,” Benner said.

Although Quinn said they priori-

Data from Saint Joseph’s University and The National Center for Education Statistics GRAPHICS: EMILY GRAHAM ’20/THE HAWK

tize having Jesuit representation on the board, she added that there are practices in place to increase the role of women on the board, including having two women serving on the executive committee of the board, as well as women participating in academic advisory boards.

Adams said this report should act as motivation for not only the board of trustees at universities, but for community members, especially at St. Joe’s, who can use their voices to influence their board.

“St. Joe’s has less than 20% women [on the board], so that’s not a very good representation,” Adams said. “Things need to improve there. It would be great if students or faculty or people who are interested in women’s studies could get really interested in this issue and raise it.”

University celebrates first generation college students ALLISON KITE ’22 Hawk Staff Biology major Valentina Vavlas ’23 hopes to pursue a career in medicine some day, but first she has to navigate college as the first person in her family to do so.

“I have to do things differently than most people,” said Vavlas, who is from northeast Pennsylvania. “I don’t have people to go to to ask about things, so I kind of have to figure everything out on my own.”

Vavlas is one of nearly 700 undergraduate students at St. Joe’s who are the first in their family to attend college.

The university celebrated National First Generation College Student Day on Nov. 8 in order to let the first generation undergraduate students who attend St. Joe’s know that they are not alone.

“It’s so that first gen know they’re appreciated, and that they’re supported, but also so that people that are not first gen can recognize, ‘There’s someone who’s different than me here,’” said Maggie Oliver, student support program specialist in the Office of Haub School of Business Graduate Advising, and a first generation student herself.

Led by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity, the celebration took place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Campion Student Center. Giveaway items included snacks, T-shirts and a wheel that first generation students could spin to receive items such as laundry bags and stickers. Attendees, including students, faculty and staff, could

also pick up pennants to hang.

“This [pennant] is for faculty and staff who are first gen,” said Nancy Komada, Ph. D., director of student transitions in the Success Center. “You would hang this in your office and that would identify that you are somebody who can support students because you have been through it yourself.”

A focal point at the celebration was a large red poster with quotes from first generation students, faculty and staff. Natalie Walker Brown, director for Inclusion and Diversity Educational Achievement, said first-generation students, staff and faculty were asked to complete profiles to be displayed on the poster, on electronic screens around Campion, and on the Center for Inclusion and Diversity Twitter page.

“They were asked basically three things,” Walker Brown said. “What does it mean to be first gen? What are the advantages and challenges of being first gen? And what advice you would give?”

One student who submitted a profile was Daniella Campos ’23, an international relations major from Queens, New York.

“Being a first generation college student means being a cumulation of the hard work and obstacles I have endured in my life,” Campos said. “It is my chance to do better than my parents and make something out of myself, even if others don’t believe in me.”

According to Komada, many of the struggles first generation students face are because they don’t have adults at home to help guide them through the college experience.

“Students whose parents don’t have a degree, [we] help them through the jargon and the specialty kind of things that higher ed has,” Komada said. “For example, dropping and adding a class, withdrawing from a class—how would students know that if their parents can’t initially guide them?”

An additional struggle is that a lot of students also deal with intersectionality, meaning they have multiple identities that bring them challenges. Many first generation students are also, for example, commuters or come from low-income families.

“What I see with the [first generation] commuter students is that they still maintain their life at home,” Komada said. “So they’re still taking dad to the doctor’s appointment on Wednesday afternoon, and taking little brother to after school care, and negotiating that as well as a bio major.”

Despite added challenges, 42% of the university’s first generation students are on the Dean’s list, Komada said.

“These students develop resilience and grit that sometimes other students don’t have,” Komada said.

Vavlas, who attended the celebration, said she appreciated the message behind it.

“I think it recognizes kids like myself and others who are all trying to figure it out on their own,” Vavlas said.

Organizers said the event was also largely to remind first generation students that they have a support system within the university.

“A lot of what various offices on this campus are trying to do is to help fill in the gaps and help people have as good of an experience as possible, despite the number of challenges,” Oliver said.

Julianna Bastos ’23 spins the prize wheel. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

News

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

3

Speaker explains connection of slavery and Bible Flyers linked CARLY CALHOUN ’21 Assistant News Editor The Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations hosted a lecture on Nov. 6 in Doyle Banquet Hall North about how the Bible was used to sanction slavery.

Paul Finkelman, Ph.D., spoke to the audience about the justifications that religious slaveholders would use to defend slavery.

Finkelman said slavery is not prohibited anywhere in the Bible, and there are no records of the Vatican ever condemning slavery.

“The Vatican not only supports slavery, but the Vatican in fact becomes the owner of slaves and as late as the 18th century there are slaves held in the Vatican,” Finkelman said.

Finkelman said during the Civil War, abolitionist ministers in the North would denounce southerners as bad Christians because they owned slaves.

“Southerners said, ‘Show us the part

of the New Testament, show us where Jesus condemns slavery, show us where the apostles condemn slavery,’” Finkelman said.

“You don’t find it.”

Finkelman said southern slave owners would use passages in the Bible to justify the institution of slavery, specifically referencing a story from the Bible when a slave ran away from his master to St. Paul the apostle seeking protection. However, Paul ultimately ignored the slave's pleas and sent him back to his master.

“When northerners refused to help return runaway slaves,” Finkelman said, “Southerners in the United States said, ‘You folks are lousy Christians, if it was good enough for St. Paul, it ought to be good enough for you.’”

Tom Brennan, S.J., English department chair, said the use of passages in the Bible to condone things like slavery is a misuse of religion.

“If there are places where you think that

Paul Finkelman, Ph.D., talks to the crowd about slavery in the Bible. PHOTO: LESLIE QUAN ’22/THE HAWK

slavery is being directly or indirectly condoned, you should talk about them,” Brennan said. “I think that’s part of the reason why we have theology and scripture classes here. That’s a place where these things can be discussed.”

Finn Hunsaker ’21 attended Finkelman’s lecture and said it is important to note that in order for the Jesuits and St. Joe’s to be taken seriously, they cannot avoid their past ties with racism and slavery.

“We have to say these things are wrong, we know why they’re wrong, and even if there isn’t evidence [in the Bible], we have to move against them,” Hunsaker said.

“This talk brings that point out that even though there is no direct contradiction to slavery in the Old and New Testament, they are still wrong.”

Kelsey Welsh ’22, a political science major, said since most Jesuit universities tend to be primarily white institutions, they have even more of a duty to educate their communities about the past.

“I think the best way to go about the Jesuit mission is to learn, educate yourself about it,” Welsh said. “Take accountability, acknowledge it, and then based on the history figure out how to go forward.”

Finkelman said no one today is guilty for the contributions that their ancestors made to slavery, but St. Joe’s and the Jesuits have to look into their pasts and continue educating themselves on their ties to history.

“You are not responsible for what your ancestors did,” Finkelman said. “But we all have a moral obligation to clean up the mess our ancestors left us, and you can’t understand what you have to clean up until you understand how we got there.”

Emily Graham ’20 contributed to this story.

Financial Aid discusses importance of FICO scores TIM CHRISTMAN ’22 Special to The Hawk The Office of Financial Aid hosted a workshop to help students understand their FICO scores on Nov. 6 in Doyle Banquet Hall.

Elizabeth A. Rihl Lewinsky, director of financial aid, said it is important for students to be financially literate so they understand the positive and negative repercussions FICO scores, a summary of individual credit reports, on their professional future.

“Students need to feel empowered to be able to manage their personal finances,” Lewinsky said. “They need to know how to know the basics of credit, how to maintain good credit, how to create a budget, and to be able to differentiate different types of accounts.”

Lewinsky began the presentation by highlighting the importance of understanding the three c’s of credit — character, capital and capacity. Character is how well you handle financial obligations, capital represents the assets you own, including real estate, savings and investments, and capacity is how much debt can you manage.

Lewinsky said a person’s FICO score represents the assessment of one’s credit-worthiness.

“You will have a better interest rate if you have a good FICO score,” Lewinsky said. “It can help you save so much money when applying for a mortgage loan if you have a good score.”

The FICO score, created by the data analytics company, the Fair Isaac Corporation, determines an individual’s score by factoring their on-time payment history, how much credit they’re using, their credit history, new credit and the different types of credit.

According to Lewinsky, employers hir-

ing or interviewing job applicants are not only wanting to see the applicants’ GPA and academic success, but are also starting to request access to the applicants’ FICO scores.

“Most jobs look at all of your grades and accolades before they determine whether or not to hire you,” Lewinsky said. “But there are actually employers today that run your credit history in determining whether or not they want to hire you. It is beginning to become a very common theme, they want to know your financial health.”

Certain types of debt are viewed as good in the eyes of debtors, such as student loans, because they show evidence of a college education, which suggests an increase in potential lifetime earnings.

Matthew Medve ’22 said he saw the information presented at the workshop as very important for college students.

“I really do see this as a big topic for us because we typically don’t have classes covering these types of things,” Medve said.

“Also most of us don’t have an unlimited amount of income because we don’t have actual jobs yet. So it is important for us to use it wisely.”

Lauren Bernic ’22 said she’s heard of the FICO credit score but didn’t know what it did or how it affected her.

“I’ve had a credit card that I’ve never used because I didn’t know the effects of taking credit,” Bernic said. “But now I think I have more confidence to use it and use it wisely.”

Lewinsky said there are many companies that offer options to find personal credit scores. These include companies like Experian and Credit Karma.

“Being financially literate allows [you] to make strong financial decisions, feel empowered about managing your personal finances and helps you to align your financial health with your long term goals,” Lewinsky said.

Elizabeth A. Rihl Lewinsky director of financial aid discusses FICO scores.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

to white supremacy CARA SMITH ’21 News Editor

The Office of Public Safety and Security received three reports on Nov. 1 of flyers reading “It’s okay to be white,” posted on campus which are likely related to a nationwide white supremacy movement.

Each report identified locations along City Avenue, according to Arthur Grover, director of Public Safety and Security. Two flyers were found at Cardinal Avenue and City Avenue, and the third reported flyer was along City Avenue near the Wendy’s restaurant. Grover said multiple flyers were found on campus around this time in 2018.

Gail Benner, public relations director, said in an email to The Hawk that Public Safety was unable to identify the responsible individual, but recent media coverage led the Bias Activity Review Group to determine that the perpetrator was most likely not from the St. Joe’s community.

“The decision was made to not email the community about this activity because the national organization behind this moment [sic] relishes in baiting institutions into a reaction and we didn’t want to give this more steam and feed into their racist hands,” Benner said.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an anti-hate organization, said the flyers are part of a larger trolling campaign created in October 2017 by users of 4chan, an internet discussion forum infamous for its offensive members and association with white supremacy. The initial discussion post promoted putting fliers on college campuses during Halloween night 2017.

Robin Burstein, senior associate regional director at the ADL Philadelphia office, said white supremacists target college campuses because it provides them with an opportunity to gain new members.

“Young new people are essential for the growth and sustainability of any movement,” Burstein said. “College campuses are where young people go to expand their thinking, and they are thinking they will have an opportunity, especially in this political climate.”

According to the ADL, the idea was to create a flier that had an “inoffensive” phrase on it that would be treated as racist by people who viewed it, particularly liberals or members of the media, in order to make them lose credibility in the public eye. Soon after the campaign was created, it was promoted by hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

In November 2018, the flyers were reported on 14 college and university campuses in 12 states, according to the ADL. Also, the organization documented a 7% increase in white supremacy propaganda efforts on college campuses during the 2018-2019 school year compared to prior years.

Burstein said it is essential that all members of the university speak out against acts of hate.

“You want the high levels of the administration and everyone involved in the university to be allies and not bystanders when these things happen,” Burstein said. “And to make sure that campus leadership speaks out against those hateful messages.”

Public Safety also reported, “A St. Joe’s student organization and an administrative office received a racist document mailed from a non-St. Joe’s affiliated individual.”

Initial investigations by The Hawk indicate the letter, postmarked Nov. 2, was received by at least half a dozen organizations and individuals on campus, including a professor, University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., and The Hawk.

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News

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

Public Safety seeks rideshare partnership EDDIE DAOU ’22 Hawk Staff St. Joe’s Office of Public Safety and Security is seeking a partnership with a rideshare company to deal with the large number of escort requests during peak times.

Arthur Grover, director of Public Safety and Security, said he has contacted rideshare companies Lyft, Uber and Via to come up with a deal to add free and discounted rideshare options for St. Joe’s students needing rides around campus. Grover said he is close to a deal with Lyft. The next step is negotiating Lyft’s proposal and coming up with the necessary funding and budgeting for it.

“It’s not exactly the one-on-one model, but it’s a smaller number,” Grover said, referring to the rideshare model service with one driver and one passenger. “It’s four to five and six people when there’s a demand.”

Grover said he aims to deliver the service in a way that leverages the rideshare companies’ resources with Public Safety’s

capacity problems.

As an example, from Oct. 3 through Oct. 6, Public Safety received 1,312 requests for escorts. On Oct. 3 alone, there were 437 requests. Grover said most calls or requests for escort services are for two or three people to get picked up, and on busier days, the average number of calls can reach 500.

“One of the trends is that more students at the university are choosing to use off-campus living arrangements,” Grover said. “We follow them into the community, we provide full services including transportation for those students. So, when you have an increase in population, demand increases accordingly.”

Grover said the rideshare partnership would follow a service model of potentially eight to 10 drivers within St. Joe’s campus boundaries offering rides to groups of students.

Last year, Gregory Jones ’19 pitched a rideshare partnership plan called "Hawk Ride" to Grover, members of University Student Senate and Cary Anderson, Ed.D., associate provost and vice president for Student Life.

Hawk Ride is a student escort program

On busier days, the number of escort calls can reach 500. PHOTO: DANIEL REMISHEVSKY ’23/THE HAWK

that would have worked like Uber or Lyft, where students call a ride from an app on their phone and can track the location and wait time of their driver. Jones proposed staffing the rides with Federal Work Study students who would go through van training and drive students around campus.

Jones said administration passed on the pitch ultimately because of liability issues with student drivers.

Jones said he was upset when he heard Public Safety had been looking into partnering with a third party company instead of choosing Hawk Ride.

“The cost is much more expensive than mine,” Jones said. “Mine had control under the students. We didn’t have to worry about strangers driving students around campus.

Having a work study student do the work over paying a third party a ridiculous amount makes more sense to me.”

One of the biggest complaints students have about the escort service is wait times. A number of students also told The Hawk that when they have called for escorts, they have been told they will be put on a “wait list.” Sometimes, the escort vans never show up, they said.

Grover said calls come in fast, and when demand for rides increases, wait times increase accordingly. Students could expect to wait an average of 30 minutes or more during these peak times, he said. Grover also denied students are told they are on a wait list and suggested students simply leave out of frustration before vans arrive.

It is the culture of ridesharing apps that has led to students balking at wait times for university escorts and shuttles, Grover said, and that model of service is not feasible with the resources that Public Safety currently has.

Marlaina Pigford ’22 is one of those students frustrated with wait times for Public Safety escorts. Pigford works off campus at Acme in the Bala Cynwyd shopping center, so she takes a Public Safety escort to and from her job.

“Sometimes I get off of work late, like at 11 p.m., and I’ll call and ask for an escort, and maybe 20 minutes after I ask, nobody shows up,” Pigford said. “So I have to call again and ask for another one. After another 20 minutes, I’ll just walk back to campus.”

Colleen Duddy ’20 has also been frustrated by long wait times. Last January, she relied on Public Safety for rides when there was a series of robberies occurring around her off-campus house.

“A lot of times, we called Public Safety, and we would just be looking out our window on the corner of 56th and Overbrook, and we’d see it literally fly by,” Duddy said.

“We’d call back, and they’d say to come outside, and they’d still just drive past us. We realize they were probably getting a lot of calls, and they were probably understaffed, but those robberies were happening constantly and we were just trying to be safe.”

Public Safety is also looking into adding tracking devices to Public Safety escort vans, similar to how shuttle tracking works on the SJU Mobile app.

Grover said he has already met with three vendors for GPS modules to deploy in escort vehicles.

“I’m of a mixed mind on it, to be honest, because I think it could increase frustration if you call in and your vehicle is stopping at other places,” Grover said. “But, I’m willing to try anything to improve the service and to give students a better understanding of what we do and how we do it.”

Students such as Pigford said changes like this are necessary because having to walk back to campus at 11 p.m. at night is simply not safe.

For now, Grover recommends students call an Uber or a Lyft over Public Safety if they need a ride to a class or to a meeting in a short amount of time.

“Around rush hour, you can’t leave 10 or 15 minutes before and call us,” Grover said.

“There aren’t necessarily multiple vehicles standing by and waiting for your call. Escorts is only one of the hundreds of things we do.”

Department of Public Safety reports (Nov. 1-Nov.7) Nov. 1 Public Safety was notified by Residence Life of several students smoking marijuana in Hogan Hall. Public Safety officers responded and met with the students who admitted to smoking marijuana. Community Standards was notified.

Public Safety confiscated a quantity of alcohol from a St. Joe’s student inside the lobby of Pennbrook Apartments. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified.

Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student regarding a suspicious male acting disorderly on North 54th Street. Public Safety officers responded to the area, but were unable to locate the individual. Public Safety officers remained in the area.

Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to an unknown person removing personal property from the student’s off campus residence located in the 5400 block of Woodbine Avenue. Philadelphia Police notified and responded. Incident under investigation.

Public Safety was notified by an area resident regarding students being loud in the 2000 block of Upland Way. Public Safety officers, along with the Philadelphia Police were notified and responded to the area. Crowd was dispersed. Community Standards was notified.

Public Safety was notified in regards to person(s) unknown damaging ceiling tiles on the sixth floor of Villiger Hall. Residence Life notified. Community Standards was notified. Incident under investigation.

Public Safety was notified of three instances regarding person(s) unknown placing white copy paper with the typed message “IT’S OKAY TO BE WHITE” taped on two poles on City Avenue near Cardinal Avenue. A third note was found taped on a pole near the Wendy’s restaurant. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified. Incident under investigation.

Nov. 4 Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to being assaulted by another St. Joe’s student. The student declined medical treatment and did not wish to file a police report. Community Standards was notified. Incident under investigation.

Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to person(s) unknown removing their laundry from a dryer in the LaFarge Hall. Incident under investigation.

Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s student in regards to person(s) unknown vandalizing his personal vehicle while it

was parked in the Ashwood Apartments parking lot. No police report filed. Community Standards was notified. Incident under investigation.

Nov. 5 Public Safety, while conducting exterior checks in and around Merion Hall, observed what appeared to be a metal wire that could be interpreted to approximate a makeshift noose hanging from a tree branch near Merion Hall and Fine Arts East buildings. Public Safety removed the wire from the tree branch. Further investigation found that multiple metal wires, some holding abstract art objects, were located on the same tree and placed there by the art department. The art installation was voluntarily taken down. Based on these circumstances, Public Safety believes this was not an incident of racist symbolism. Public Safety forwarded the information immediately to the Bias Activity Review Group.

Public Safety was notified by a St. Joe’s employee regarding a suspicious male acting disorderly in 219 City Avenue. Public Safety officers responded to the area, but the individual left the area. Public Safety officers remained in the area.

Nov. 6 A St. Joe’s student organization and an administrative office received a racist doc-

ument mailed from a non-St. Joe’s affiliated individual. The cover letter was addressed to University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., and attached were eight newspaper/ internet articles associated with white supremacy. The letter and attachments had no threats made to the university, its students or staff. Public Safety forwarded the information immediately to the Bias Activity Review Group.

ALCOHOL RELATED INCIDENTS

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On campus

Off campus

DRUG RELATED INCIDENTS

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Off campus

Call Public Safety:

610-660-1111

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

5

Representation on college boards The lack of female diversity in positions of power

Editor in Chief Luke Malanga ’20 Managing Editor Emily Graham ’20 Copy Chief Kaila Mundell-Hill ’20 Faculty Adviser Shenid Bhayroo Contributing Adviser Jenny Spinner Senior Editor Charley Rekstis ’20 Digital Managing Editor Alex Hargrave ’20 Copy Editor Angelique Frazier ’20 Copy Editor Jackie Collins ’21 News Editor Cara Smith ’21 Assistant News Editor Carly Calhoun ’21 Opinions Editor Devin Yingling ’22 Assistant Opinions Editor Hadassah Colbert ’20 Features Editor Kaitlyn Patterson ’20 Assistant Features Editor Zach Dobinson ’22 Sports Editor Sam Britt ’20 Assistant Sports Editor Ryan Mulligan ’21

On the St. Joe’s board of 35 trustees, 7 are women. And the chair of the board, Edward J. Moneypenny, graduated from St. Joe’s in 1964, only six years before the school started admitting women.

Moreover, the liaison to the board of trustees has told The Hawk while they are seeking to diversify the board, one of their main goals is also to seek Jesuits and alumni to fill positions.

It has been 49 years now since women have been allowed into this university, and there has not been enough progress in promoting women to positions of power. It is challenging to place female alumni in these positions on the board, considering this school has hardly made it to 50 years as a co-educational institution.

Even as a co-educational institution, there are obviously deep ties to the Catholic Church—another sector of life in which women do not operate at high level positions.

Now, we cannot reverse thousands of years of Catholicism. We understand Catholicism has a history that places women to the side in terms of filling positions of power. But as a Jesuit institution that upholds a mission of inclusion and social justice, we should accept that history and move forward from it.

Our mission of social justice should come before the traditional gender norms of our Catholic roots; becoming a co-educational institution was just the first step.

In order to support women at this university, we should start where representation is significantly lacking. The board of trustees needs to accurately represent the student

body, which is now over 50% women. Having under 20% of the board seats filled by women is unacceptable.

Representing women at the higher levels sets the tone for the rest of the university community to respect all women who attend. Not just white women, but women of color, queer women, transgender women and all women of this community are welcome here and deserve

All women at this school deserve respect. They deserve and have every right to hold a position of power. They deserve to be here. proper respect and representation.

Putting women in power at higher levels would set an example in promoting an inclusive environment that values not only those in administrative positions, but also female professors, housekeepers, maintenance workers and students.

As we work to diversify our positions of power at this university, we must work to do the same at our level in the community. We cannot change the makeup of the board of trustees in one night, but we can do things at a local level while we try and confront underrepresentation at the top.

There are many ways this community could support the female population here in order to put them in better positions to succeed. For starters, the visibility and upkeep of the Women’s Center on campus needs to be better maintained. Menstrual products should be available in all public bathrooms across the university free of any costs. We need more than one gynecologist on this campus to help women with their health concerns. And the list continues.

Promoting inclusion and diversity involves making sure women of all backgrounds and at all levels feel welcome on this campus. All women at this school deserve respect. They deserve and have every right to hold a position of power. They deserve to be here.

As individuals, let us each promote gender inclusivity in our own lives, and as a community, let us use our voices and strength in numbers to encourage the upper-levels of this school to have a diverse group of women in positions of power represent this student body.

—The Editorial Board

This week’s Editorial Board is comprised of the Digital Managing Editor, Special Projects Editor, Assistant News Editor, Copy Chief, Copy Editor, Photo Editor, Assistant Opinions Editor, and Opinions Editor. This editorial reflects the views of the Board and not the entire Hawk The Hawk welcomes Letters to the Editor, typically no more than 300 words. They can be emailed to hawk.editorial@gmail.com.

Letter to the Editor Thank you for publishing Dumonde (Slam) Dunkley’s “Celebration of Genocide.” It is an eloquent wake-up call.

I had the privilege of visiting the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama this past August. It remembers and honors men and women who were lynched during the Jim Crow era, by name, date, and county—or perhaps as “Unknown” with date on a specific county pillar. The day I walked through this im-

mense memorial no one spoke. We were stunned into silence.

Along with the museum to the history of slavery in the United States, this is a project of Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Why undertake such a project?

“Our nation’s history of racial injustice casts a shadow across the American landscape. This shadow cannot be lifted until we shine the light of truth on the destructive violence that shaped our na-

tion…” —Bryan Stevenson.

Atrocities of many kinds committed against indigenous peoples, as well as the enslaving and lynching of African Americans, are part of the shameful history we must own if we are ever to recover and live in peace.

Not deny, not ignore—own. Otherwise….

–Elizabeth Linehan, RSM Professor Emerita of Philosophy

Assistant Sports Editor Matt DeLeo ’20 Special Projects Editor Nick Karpinski ’21 Photo Editor Mitchell Shields ’22 Online Editor Alex Mark ’20 Social Media Manager Natalie Drum ’20 Assistant Social Media Manager Julia Koerwer ’23 Business Manager Angela DiMarco ’22 Assistant Business Manager Collin Messenger ’22 Distribution Manager Gavin O'Reilly ’20

COUNTDOWN TO HARRY STYLES While Saturday Night Live is highly anticipated every week, the show will be hosted by Harry Styles this Saturday, Nov. 16. And, he will be the musical guest. That’s right, double duty Harry Styles on SNL. Need we say more or clarify why this is in fact, the number one hot of the week?

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS Do we get extra sleep? Yes. Is that a good thing for us? Of course. But, the sun setting by 4:30 p. m.? That constitutes a “not” for us. While we may be a bit more rested, a longer period of nighttime has the finals season procrastination intensely setting in.

LET THE HOLIDAY SEASON COMMENCE Starbucks has once again taken the lead in ringing in the holiday season. We adore their festive cups, and now have yet another excuse to spend too much money on coffee and pastries every morning.

CLASS REGISTRATION We say it every year, and we’ll say it again: course registration is a nightmare. We hope you are all getting the classes you need/want, and we’re sending you luck to make it through the process alive.

RETURN OF SANDWICH WARS Oh yes, the Popeyes v. Chik-fil-A war returns as the former has brought back their number one competitor: the new chicken sandwich. Once the lines start to die down, we recommend taking a trip down City Avenue to the nearest Popeyes and purchasing a sandwich to decide for yourself if it beats their rivals.

OH MAN, HE HAS AIR PODS IN As if airpods weren’t enough of a meme already, Apple released the newest series on Oct. 28, and they are quite ugly. Plus, is it just us, or does a headphone with a rubber earpiece never fit right in the ear?

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Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

Community Conversations: ALEX HARGRAVE ’20, Digital Managing Editor

INTRODUCTION Since the start of the fall 2019 semester, there have been three reported racial bias incidents on campus. In response to these reports, the St. Joe’s administration hosted a University Forum on diversity, equity and inclusion on Nov. 4 in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena.

To give every member of the St. Joe’s community the ability to attend, all classes between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. were cancelled. There were

approximately 1,800 students, faculty and staff in attendance out of over 4,500 undergraduate students and 299 full time faculty as of the 201819 school year.

In response to recent racial bias incidents and the University Forum, The Hawk collected a variety of voices from the St. Joe’s community. Respondents consist of students, faculty, staff and alumni of different backgrounds, experiences and in-

What can the administration do to address racism?

volvement on campus.

Racism is a global issue and a systemic problem that affects the world outside of St. Joe’s. We hope this collection of opinions and perspectives allows the discussion of racism on campus to continue and what is presented here allows for a continued pursuit of racial social justice.

We recognize what is presented here does not represent the views of the community at large, but a

portion of the community. These quotes also primarily reflect white voices in order to highlight that the issue is rooted in whiteness, as Asia Whittenberg ’22 said when addressing the community in the Nov. 4 University Forum: “It is not the responsibility of black and brown people to educate you. No one person from this group should be seen as the spokesperson for an underrepresented identity.”

What is your reaction when you heard about more racial bias incidents?

r

“The students who are doing this aren’t needs to talk to students in all classes to be trained to be able to talk about racism in all classes. I have experienced microaggressions from professors, residents and classmates.” 一Caraiah Stout ’16

“First saddened and frustrated, anger comes up to. I was encouraged by the decision on the part of the administration to cancel classes and to put a strong priority on drawing people together to have some conversation and to listen...that invitation to sit in the discomfort that can come up when we enter into real dialogue about racism and about privilege一to notice that discomfort and to sit with it, and then to let that be fertile ground for growth is a wonderful invitation.” 一Catherine Kirwan-Avila, A.C.J., campus minister

“Can an administrator or a leader of an organization stop racism? I think it’s bigger than that. The leader has a responsibility to respond to racist events and proactively or preemptively say we won’t tolerate it at our organization. Wherever you learned it, however you learned it, you can’t have it here.” 一 Lisa Nelson, D.Sc., visiting professor of management

“At this point, it just doesn’t surprise me anymore. This isn’t the first time and unfortunately it won’t be the last.

Until the university finally decides to step up and take action, this is going to keep happening.” 一Rae Coleman ’16

一Don Haldeman, Ph.D, adjunct professor of sociology

Opinions

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

Racism at St. Joe’s DEVIN YINGLING ’22, Opinions Editor

Do you think St. Joe’s has a problem with racism?

What can the university community do to address racism?

“There are people at St. Joe’s who have a problem, and there are people at St. Joe’s who do not. Reported racial incidents of this and last year are an indication that, as a campus community, we do have a problem.” 一Nancy Fox, Ph.D., associate professor of economics

“As an alum, if I'm hearing about these very specific incidents years after I have graduated, I can only imagine what the campus experience is like for a student of color 一 what that must feel like.” 一Lindsay Hueston ’16 一Lindsay Hueston ’16

“When I talk about diligence and being patient, that's making sure that you remember you’re students. We have our own individual goals and collective goals. The institution itself has many goals. What we need to do is then work together in the best way possible so that everyone's needs are met.” 一Tyler Jackson ’18

一Bill Rickle, S.J., campus minister of athletics and student life

Instagram Poll Results The Hawk conducted Instagram polls to collect data about the following questions. These figures represent only the viewpoints of our responding Instagram followers.

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Opinions

Breaking down doors

A reflection on being a first gen student ANGELIQUE FRAZIER ’20 Columnist Before I came to St. Joe’s, my parents would occasionally mention the idea of college to me when I was in high school, but I always naively assumed it was too expensive for my parents to afford.

I never thought I would actually be going to college. That was before my parents and I would visit colleges, and I found out about of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA).

Even then, it didn’t really sink in that I would actually be going to college, or even choosing St. Joe’s until Admitted Students Day. But as a senior, I’m starting to reflect on my past three years here, and I realize that I have admittedly lost sight of what being a first generation student means to me personally.

One of the most complicated things about being a first generation college student is that I didn’t “go away” for college. I live 30 minutes from St. Joe’s, and I’ve commuted every year to save money. From the outside, it might seem like a good thing.

As a first-year and a first gen student, I wasn’t thrown into the college experience. I didn’t know that tough feeling of being away from my parents for the first time. But the transition was still a rough one.

I thought college would be this huge, intimidating place. And it was. When I first came to St. Joe’s, I had it in my head that I

would never really “fit in.” And because I’m also a commuter, after a while, college just felt like high school: I would go to class and go home.

I isolated myself and kept my head down, because that was what I thought was the best way to survive. In my experience, there has been a tremendous amount of unspoken pressure to succeed.

I didn’t get the freedom that other first gen’s felt on move-in day. I didn’t get to immerse myself in “the college experience.” But I have to remind myself: there is not one right way to be a first gen student.

Time went on, and as I opened myself up to opportunities, I discovered activities that I was passionate about. I joined the Writing Center, and eventually, The Hawk.

I formed valuable connections with colleagues, faculty and staff. College stopped feeling like this big, overwhelming place. I finally felt like I belonged.

As a first and second-year student, when the going got tough, I wouldn’t ask for help. As a senior, I realize I was wrong not to reach out for help from faculty and take advantage of the resources that were available to me sooner.

That’s one thing I wish I knew as a first gen first-year student.

Another thing I wish I knew is that failure doesn’t exist. It is only an opportunity to learn from mistakes and do better the next time.

When I first came to St. Joe’s, I declared a music major, but over time I discovered different interests, like writing and photography.

I felt guilty for listening to my heart and pursuing other goals because I thought that

meant my initial career goals would also change. I was afraid of feeling like a failure because I no longer knew for certain what I wanted to do with my life after college.

Again, I’ve had to realize that this isn’t unusual. I shouldn’t feel any extra pressure about my uncertain future just because I’m a first gen student. In fact, I should feel even more hopeful.

Because I’m first, I’ve already passed the bar that has been set for me. I’ve already made it farther than I thought I would. And as a senior being so close to graduation, I’ve almost reached the point that myself and my parents had anticipated: graduation As a first generation college student, I’ve really enjoyed being able to grow academically as a result of strong relationships with professors.

Being able to communicate with and learn from people who are experts in their field has been inspiring and rewarding.

Getting the chance to appreciate and have discourse on different topics is one of my favorite things about being a college student.

And certainly something that I will miss.

Finally, I think being a first gen means the most to my parents, who have sacrificed a lot for me to go to college, and there’s nothing wrong with that. When I walk across the stage to receive my degree in May, it will feel like all these years of learning and growing were leading up to that moment. And as a first gen, that walk will mean even more to me.

Being respectful of differences

Alopecia is more than not having a hair tie REGINA SCHLIEP ’23 Columnist If someone asks, “Does someone have a hair tie?” I will be the first to respond, “Yes.” My close friends know that I tend to make jokes about not having hair, like my own defense mechanism. Sometimes humor is a good way to cope with things that may make people self conscious.

The adjustment process of college is notoriously full of many emotions. For some, it is not a problem at all, but for the ones that aren’t as lucky, it can be a really difficult time. I haven’t even fully adjusted yet, so I can’t quite pinpoint all the attitudes I feel towards the process. But I do know that I’ve had a little more of a difficult time because of unique distinctions to myself.

My anxiousness fills me with so many questions. When I introduce myself is, “I’m Regina, nice to meet you!” enough? Are they thinking why is she bald? Do I have to say, “I’m Regina, nice to meet you! Also I have alopecia, that’s why I’m bald, in case you were wondering.” I just think that would be a bad ice breaker.

I tend to hope that people are aware of what my disease is, but being thrown into a new environment accompanied by people’s natural curiosities proved me wrong.

Some think I shave my head for the look of it, which seems like an incredibly difficult task. Others, and most commonly the biggest misconception, think that I have cancer, and fortunately that is not the case either.

I’ve had alopecia since I was six years old. Frequently people ask if I have cancer, and as I’ve gotten older, a lot of the things that come with my disease have become

easier. But this has not; It’s always a difficult topic to navigate.

I’m really lucky. I’m alive, healthy, have a really good support system in friends and family, and am able to attend a university.

I often face a really unique form of invalidation when people mistakenly assume that I have cancer. Several responses tend to follow the question: the initial overwhelming empathy that comes with the question goes away when I correct the person, or

“When hair is such a defining attribute of a person, a symbol of femininity, of health, of expression, it can be really difficult to navigate a new environment when the one I was formerly in viewed my hairlessness with normalcy.”

I become the audience to a story about a loved one the person has with cancer.

In the first case, my disease isn’t good enough for empathy. In the second, the misunderstanding of it puts me in a place where I feel bad that strangers misunderstand me because I am not in the position of those with cancer.

To put it in perspective, so far at college, I’ve been accosted about having cancer six times, asked if I wrote my college essay on my alopecia as a response to what disease I have (yes, I did, wouldn’t you?), have been told it was assumed I choose to be bald as a fashion statement, and have had blatantly unkind comments said to me. Remember-

ing all the instances so specifically is indicative of the effect they have on me, the effect words have on people.

It might seem like a miniscule thing to not have hair, and in retrospect it is. Again, I’m really lucky. I often struggle to justify myself when talking about such things because I don’t want to sound ungrateful when circumstances could be worse.

However, I feel as though I am valid in addressing the feelings that come as a result of my disease.

When hair is such a defining attribute of a person, a symbol of femininity, of health, of expression, it can be really difficult to navigate a new environment when the one I was formerly in viewed my hairlessness with normalcy.

It would be so cliche of me to say don’t judge people, but I really think that’s something that needs to be emphasized. Based on my experiences, I can imagine how similar experiences reflect onto other people who are “different” in some ways as well.

Being cognizant and respectful of people’s differences goes a long way. I’m not writing this to ask for sympathy by any means. I am well adjusted to the side effects of looking different from others. In fact, despite all the negative aspects there are, I love my alopecia.

I just think it is important to highlight the importance of creating an inclusive community for everyone, through words and subsequent actions. I think (and hope) right now, more than ever, the St. Joe’s community knows that words have so much power.

Be kind; don’t set people apart for their differences.

TODD ERKIS Columnist ANNA LUBOMIRSKI ’21 Columnist Welcome back to Money Matters. In this week’s column we answer a question about credit cards. If you have a question that you would like answered, please send them to hawk.editorial@gmail.com.

I have a full-time job offer but the salary is lower than I had hoped to receive. How do I negotiate for a better salary? —Jane D. ’20, management major Erkis: I get this question often from seniors who are looking for full-time jobs and from students seeking summer internships.

The first thing is to understand if you have “leverage” in the situation. Leverage means tools you have to get what you want. For example, if you have multiple offers, you have leverage because you can decline this offer and take the other one (if the other one is a position you would be happy to accept). Leverage could also be having worked there previously (say during the summer) or having a unique skill that the company needs which is less likely for a college student.

Negotiating with a company about a job offer has risk. If the company has other candidates, they could rescind your offer and offer the position to someone else. This could happen if they believe you are being unreasonable.

We always want to be reasonable and communicate positively with the company. The goal in this type of negotiation is a win-win. Let the company know that you love the job and with this negotiation you will accept.

Consider if the risk of losing the offer is worth what you can gain by negotiating.

Let’s say Jane’s offer is at a great company and something she is interested in doing. If the offer is in the ballpark of a reasonable, market starting salary, it may be best to just take the offer unless you have significant leverage.

Getting the job you want is the most important thing. Doing a great job will give you leverage to ask for an early raise (or to find a higher paying job elsewhere).

What about if the offer is low relative to what starting salaries are for entry level positions? In that case, I would suggest you keep looking and attempt to get an extension on deciding on this offer. If the company forces you into a tight deadline, it puts you into a tough spot. Without another offer or one that looks certain, I generally advise accepting the offer. It doesn’t mean you can’t keep looking for a better position though.

Lubomirski: While I haven’t had that much work experience, I have learned through summer jobs that enjoying what you do is more important than getting paid more money. If you have an offer for a summer position that you know you will like, I would recommend taking it.

The experience is the most important thing in addition to using that experience to find a great full-time job. Even if it is full-time, what you have is just a starting salary and will change as you start to build more of that leverage that Professor Erkis talks about.

Features

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

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Barbelin casts light on social issues with new LEDs system LUKAS VAN SANT ’21 Special to The Hawk With the push of a button, John Pilat can shed light on just about any issue or cause important to the St. Joe’s community.

Pilat, assistant director of power plant foreman in the Office of Facilities Management, is in charge of lighting the iconic tower of Barbelin Hall.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve done just about every color for every significant type of event,” Pilat said. “Autism, breast cancer awareness, we’ve done the full gamut of colors.”

Until last year, Pilat said facility workers had to apply a special mylar gel, a type of polyester film used to distort light and create different colors, to a single 1500 watt bulb that illuminated the tower.

“We had the ability to make it blue, green, a little bit of red and purple, with just a mylar gel similar to what they use in the theaters but we had to send a guy up all those stairs,” Pilat said.

The light was also too hot for the gel, creating a mess.

“It would melt the gel,” Pilat said. “It would only last a couple of days.”

That presented a challenge for requests for month-long awareness campaigns, like Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pilat said.

In the summer of 2018, the single bulb was replaced by four LED lights, held in place by a metal bracket inside the tower. Now, when a request for a new color comes in, Pilat just pushes a button on his laptop keyboard, creating a whole new light show for the campus and surrounding community.

“I’d like to think that it gives them a sense of camraderie or a sense of belonging to the community,” Pilat said. “There’s so many issues in the world nowadays, so anything we can do to highlight them [helps] make people

more cognizant of those things.”

The lights in the Barbelin tower have cast light on a variety of causes and celebrations over the years. During the month of April,

the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support requests blue lights in support of Autism Awareness Month. The lights have also shown red on game days for Hawks basket-

With a new lighting system the bell tower can display more colors. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

ball, green for the Philadelphia Eagles when the National Football League (NFL) team won the Super Bowl in 2018 and purple and gold for Halloween. Most recently, in October, the lights glowed pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Anyone on campus can put in a request to change the tower lights with a form submitted to the Office of Student Life, said Gail Benner, public relations director. Decisions regarding approval of requests follow the university’s, “Interim Policy on Assembly and Expression,” Benner said. A request to change the lights is done through the “Assembly and Fixed Exhibit Form,” located on the Office of Community Standards website.

Missy MacPherson ’20, event leader for St. Joe’s chapter of Relay for Life, was behind the request for the pink lights in October.

MacPherson said her group would like to highlight other cancer awareness causes as well.

“Somebody thought it would be really cool if every month we lit up Barbelin to coincide with the color ribbon that goes along with the cancer awareness for that month,” MacPherson said. “For the month of April, which is when we have our event, we are going to do purple because that’s the color for Relay.”

Stephanie Zellner ’22, vice president of SJUPride, said the club requested a rainbow of colors last year in honor of Unity Week.

“I think it was a really cute and fun way to show solidarity with the LGBT community and allowed people to feel seen,” Zellner said.

“I also think it was beautiful, and even people who didn’t know why the lights were changing were able to appreciate the beauty.”

Pilat said he is proud of his contribution to the process.

“Everyone’s been touched by these different things over the course of their life,” Pilat said. “I’d like to believe it makes a difference.”

Comedy and Cocktails brings a night of laughs ANTHONY SALATTO ’21 Special to The Hawk Students filled The Perch on Nov. 9 for “Comedy and Cocktails,” the latest event held by Hawk Hill Productions (HHP). The event was a night of laughs, a free nacho bar, free soft drinks and even cocktails for the over-21 crowd.

Comedians Kiry Shabazz and Ali Clayton entertained the audience in two one-hour sets.

“I am very excited,” said Jonathan Jack ’21 at the start of the show. “I love comedy, and the free food is definitely a plus.”

Megan Azzalina, assistant director of Student Leadership and Activities and HHP advisor, said student leaders got the idea to host the comedy night after attending the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) national convention.

“A few comedians from StandUp NBC performed, and HHP decided that they would be great acts to bring to campus,” Azzalina said.

StandUp NBC, formerly NBC’s Standup for Diversity, is an initiative created to search for standup comedians across the country who come from diverse backgrounds.

Starting in 2003, the search offers each comedian the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of executives at NBCUniversal and throughout the comedy industry. The best comedians are offered an NBC talent holding deal, meetings with NBCUniversal casting development executives and an invitation to showcase at NACA for the opportunity to tour the U.S. college circuit.

Shabazz, a black man who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, won the World Series of

Kiry Shabazz entertains a St. Joe’s audience with his humor. PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Comedy Competition and is the winner of the 2018 StandUp NBC. Clayton is a lebsian comedian from North Carolina who has been performing stand-up for 10 years. Last year, she got her first TV credit on the Vice series “Funny How.” Both of the comedians interacted with students in the audience during their perfor-

mance at St. Joe’s. Shabazz asked students their majors and cracked jokes with their responses.

Asa Peerez ’21, who attends most of the events that are hosted in the Perch, said this show was one of his favorite events he’s attended.

“I thought it was really cool that they did something different,” Peerez said.

Emmly Cherival ’21 said she really enjoyed Shabazz’s routine.

“My favorite performer had to be Kiry [Shabazz],” Cherival said. “I just think that he was a lot more relatable to me and his punchlines where hilarious.”

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Features

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A cappella invitational takes over Bluett Theatre St. Joe's a cappella groups collaborate at fall concert

Christian Peeney ’22, music director of 54th and City, performs during his group’s performance of 'Stacy's Mom' originally by Fountains of Wayne.

ZACH DOBINSON ’22 Assistant Features Editor Harmonies and high notes poured out of Bluett Theatre as St. Joe’s a cappella groups hosted their annual fall invitational on Nov. 9. Nine groups from Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania performed two songs each at one of the biggest a cappella events of the semester, Hawks and Harmonies.

Emily Fordham ’21, president of Hawkappella, said one thing that made this invitational different than previous years was the fact that it was co-hosted by all three a cappella groups at St. Joe’s for the first time. These groups include Hawkappella, a co-ed group, the City Belles, an all-female group, and 54th and City, an all-male group.

“We are really pushing towards an ‘aca-unity’ type of thing where all of the groups can work together, collaborate and be more of a unified front versus there’s so much competition,” Fordham said.

Groups traveled from Drexel University, Loyola University Maryland, Stockton University and Villanova University to perform at the event as well.

While supporting one another in the a cappella community being able to support each other at the same event is something that previously hasn’t been able to happen.

With some events usually asking only one of the three groups to perform, a cappella at St. Joe’s was missing a unified front.

Linsdey Richardson ’20, president of the City Belles, said this fragmentation of performances makes it hard to unite the a cappella groups at St. Joe’s because they’re all doing different things. Having an event that all three groups put together has alleviated some of this seperation.

“We love to go out and support each other at those events, but having an event that allows us to bond with each other and unite the groups has been super great,” Richardson said.

“It’s been really fun collaborating for this event.”

Patrick McGavick ’20, president of 54th and City, said having Hawks and Harmonies being co-hosted by all three groups sends a message to the St. Joe’s community that says a cappella is more than just a pasttime.

“I really think this adds some legitimacy to what we do on campus and all the work we’ve put in over the past few years,” McGavick said. “It makes us look a lot more like a unified force rather than just some groups screwing around.”

In addition to the event being co-hosted for the first time, this year was also the first time the event was hosted in Bluett Theatre. Fordham believes all the groups coming together helped the university recognize how serious a cappella at St. Joe’s really is.

“In the past, we’ve not been allowed to perform in Bluett,” Fordham said.

“They’ve never permitted it because

they’re like, ‘You’re a student arts group and this theatre is only for official parts at St. Joe’s.’ This year us working together was helpful in allowing them to [let us use Bluett] because it showed that yes we are legit and yes we are respectable.”

Although the excitement for the event was prevalent throughout the night, some members couldn’t help but understand that this invitational was the last one for the seniors in the groups.

Richardson, who has been in the City Belles since her first year, reflected on her time with the group before soloing in their first song of the night “Cowboy Cassanova” by Carrie Underwood.

“I’m super thankful for City Belles,” Richardson said. “This opportunity has been super exciting and a great way to know more faces with a passion for music on campus.”

Nathan King ’20 has been in Hawkappella all four of his years at St. Joe’s. While he was excited to be performing with the other groups in a new space, the reality of his senior year has begun to set in.

“It’s sort of a bittersweet thing just like

a lot of the Hawkappella things happening for a senior,” King said. “It’s definitely sad, but there’s also a celebratory aspect to it because having been in the group for four years I have noticed the progress that we’ve made.”

The progress King talks about also includes bringing new members into the group. This year Hawkappella added three new members, two first-year students and one senior. The new additions made King feel better knowing that he will have to leave the group come graduation.

“It’s really been a joy to see them come in and match the energy of everyone else in the group right off the bat,” King said.

“They’re all very talented, hard working and dedicated to the group.”

Having strong new members and a strong group overall makes Fordham also feel confident about the future of the group.

“The group is so motivated and they come to practice and they want to learn and do stuff,” Fordham said. “They all have such a high standard for themselves and what they want the group to be that it’s not easy, but easy to lead them.”

Lindsey Richardson ’20, president of the City Belles, sings a solo. PHOTOS: ZACH DOBINSON ’22/THE HAWK

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Nov. 13, 2019

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Art meets science at university panel CASEY WOOD ’23 Hawk Staff The friends, family and admirers of Robert Engman gathered together in the Cardinal Foley Campus Center on Nov. 7 to remember and celebrate the artist’s work created in his lifetime of 91 years.

Robert Engman is an American sculptor best known for his minimal surface sculptures, including “Triune,” which was created in 1975. The piece is displayed at the southwest corner of Philadelphia City Hall. Robert Engman received his education from the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University for painting and sculpture. He eventually became an associate professor and director of Graduate Studies in sculpture at Yale and then at the University of Pennsylvania.

The event began with a panel discussion between Stephen Loughin, professor of physics William Perthes, Bernard C. Watson, director of adult education at The Barnes Foundation, and Kristopher Tapp, professor and chair of the mathematics department. The discussion was focused on how Robert Engman’s sculpting does not only apply to art, but to the laws of physics and mathematics as well.

Loughin, a friend of Robert Engman’s, explained his admiration of Robert Engman’s work in relation to mathematics and physics.

“I sort of talked to him about his sculptures over a period of years,” Loughin said. “I was aware of the minimal surface connection. I think they’re just brilliant.”

It is evident that Engman’s sculptures and ideas are well respected by their viewers. Perthes expressed his belief about the uniqueness of Robert Engman’s art.

“A lot of art gives you everything all at once,” Perthes said. “But in [Engman’s] work, you go back and see something new.”

Robert Engman’s work has gone through style changes over the years. When Engman was in his 20s, he studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. However, he found that illustration was too commercial and similar to graphic design, so he shifted his goals to painting and sculpture.

Robert Engman’s son, Anders Engman, was also in attendance at the event to support his father’s creation of these sculptures. Anders Engman expressed how his father found his style.

“Instead of just creating something just to create something, he started to create to represent himself and his experience and hopefully objective things outside of that,”

Some of Robert Engman's work displayed in the Merion Hall Gallery.

Tapp addresses the audience in the Foley Center. PHOTO: ALEX HARGRAVE ’20/THE HAWK

Anders Engman said. “But as he graduated from graduate school, he became a professor at Yale. He then started to create things that are distinctly his own.”

Anders Engman also recalled a time when his father made another shift in his artistic career: when he withdrew from displaying his artwork in galleries.

“Once he did that, he really moved into the pure art of it, which he was fond of,” Anders Engman said. “He was a huge fan of that idea; being a true artist.”

Not only does Anders Engman remember his father’s journey to success, but Loughin also recognized this experience.

“He would sculpt it with his hands, then he would smooth it out and sand it out, so that process was very interesting,” Loughin said. “We would do things for each other. One time I made him a stand for one of his pieces, and he did some

welding, so I did some woodwork. We had a lot of interactions.”

Robert Engman was seen as not only a friend, loved one and an artist, but as an inspiration to many. Anders Engman expressed his gratitude toward St. Joe’s for displaying Robert Engman’s art. He hopes that his father’s art will inspire students on campus.

“We love to come and display in such a revered space and to have this opportunity really has been a thrill. We are really grateful for not only the beautiful spaces themselves, but the culture around it,” Anders Engman said. “I’ve seen, even in setting it up, a lot of the students appreciating his work and understanding it, hopefully in their own personal way, but understanding that there’s kind of a monumental nature to it.”

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Features

The Hawk Newspaper

Out Of The Darkness aims to spread light Community members gather to talk about mental health ZACH DOBINSON ’22 Assistant Features Editor The St. Joe’s community was asked a simple question on Nov. 10: how are you doing?

With the light pouring from the lamp posts on Sweeney Field, St. Joe’s was prompted to reflect on their mental health.

At the sixth annual Out Of The Darkness (OOTD) Walk, the St. Joe’s community gathered together to address a topic that tends to be left unaddressed: mental health. The event encourages participants to talk about the mental health of themselves and those around them.

“It reminds people to take a step back and check in with themselves, reflect on their own mental health and also think about those around them and how they think their friends and family members are doing,” said Melissa Crisci ’20, co-dirctor of the walk.

Beginning on Sweeney Field and ending at the Barbelin Hall courtyard, the OOTD Walk made its way through campus to raise awareness about suicide on college campuses.

During the walk, attendees followed a decorated path to the Maguire Wolfington Welcome Center, where there were memorial bags to symbolize friends and/or family members affected by suicide. Along the walk, participants were able to read encouraging messages meant to give them hope to keep going with lights and balloons guiding people.

The event was sponsored by the Dean’s Leadership Program (DLP) and Active Minds. DLP is a co-curricular organization that accepts 35 freshman every year and cultivates their leadership skills throughout their time at St. Joe’s. Active Minds is a national nonprofit organization aiming to raise awareness around mental health and normalize conversations about it. A chapter of the organization was brought to St. Joe’s in 2011 by Marybeth Ayella, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology, and Natalie Petyk, Psy.D., assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

In May of 2014, a senior in DLP died by suicide. In response, members of DLP organized the first OOTD Walk later that year in November.

Vana Zervanos, Ph.D., associate dean of the Erivan K. Haub School of Business and co-director of DLP, believes that it’s during someone’s college and high school years that attention needs to be paid towards mental health as these years are crucial to one’s development.

“This is something that we all have to pay attention to and we as educators, people who are with students all the time and care for students who live among us, these are delicate years for students,” Zervanos said “They’re vulnerable, they’re stressed, they have an immense amount of responsibility.”

Joey Lam ’21, community outreach chair of Active Minds at St. Joe’s, said she feels that mental health is something everyone should be talking about more, especially college students.

“Not everyone has a mental illness, but everyone has mental health,” Lam said. “We want to take care of each other and let our students

Attendees express why they choose to participate in the Out of the Darkness walk. PHOTOS: LESLIE QUAN ’22/THE HAWK

know it’s okay. This is a campus that accepts who you are for who you are.”

Angela Tonrey ’20, co-director of the walk, said she sees a lot more mental health awareness being spread in society through things such as social media and celebrities. However, she said there can never be enough acknowledgement because there are still people who don’t recognize signs of poor mental health.

“I don’t think people put [mental health] where they should,” Tonrey said. “Physical health normally drives and mental health takes the back seat.”

Suicide was the second leading cause of death among college students in 2017.

Crisci and Tonrey both felt drawn to OOTD because of their own personal experiences with suicide and mental health.

In 2018, Crisci lost her cousin, Martin, to suicide. Turning her grief into something positive, Crisci wanted to channel her experience into ways of helping those struggling with their own mental health and that of their family members.

“There was just something in me that was like, ‘I need to help people who are facing the same hardships, issues and difficulties with their mental health just like [Martin] was,” Crisci said. “It just opened my eyes to the prevalence of it and even on our campus, surrounding community and all over.”

During her sophomore year, Tonrey found it difficult to talk about her mental health problems with someone on campus outside of CAPS. As helpful as her sessions with CAPS were, Tonrey felt the doorway of those sessions was where the help stopped.

“I would go there and tell them all my problems, leave feeling great and then I felt like I couldn’t tell my roommates where I was going whenever I went,” Tonrey said.

Tonrey said she didn’t know a lot about mental health in general her first year of college. If someone came to her then and told her there were ways she could help herself, she said, she would have been better off.

“I think your mental health definitely takes a back seat only because there’s just so many other things happening,” Tonrey said. “I think if you can get a handle on it a little bit earlier, I think a lot of people would be helped.”

Zervanos agreed that gaining access to resources earlier helps people get the upper hand on their mental health and be proactive rather than reactive.

“It’s not something that’s going away and it’s something that remains stigmatized,” Zervanos said. “Whether it’s suicidal ideation or depression, anxiety and mental health issues in general, I think young people are shy and afraid to talk about them.”

However, that there is still a social stigma undermining conversations about mental health in everyday life. Something people like Zervanos want to see is the normalization and socialization of mental health in everyday conversation.

“That takes the stigma down,” Zervanos said. “The more [mental health is] out there,

the more it can bring down the stigma like okay this is like a broken leg, this is like a flu shot, this is like antibiotics.”

Gianna Gesualdo ’20, president of DLP, said she believes the community aspect of the walk has an amazing ripple effect on everyone who attends. To her, this sense of community is enough to bring someone out of the darkness.

“What really hits home about an event like this is this is something where we see people come by themselves, which is huge,” Gesualdo said. “People show up to this walk by themselves and get a greater sense of community.”

At the end of the day, Zervanos understands that the struggle someone has with mental health is never easy and never will be.

To her, something people can do is simply take care of one another and realize we are all in one community.

“It’s tough, but there’s hope and we need to lean on each other when that hope doesn’t seem possible or it seems to fade,” Zervanos said. “Applaud people’s bravery and courage for confronting things that are hard and difficult and telling their stories, which the answer is not always clear.”

If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, call CAPS (610-660-1090), Student Outreach and Support (610-6601149) or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).

About 500 people attended the walk this year.

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

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CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

Hawks’ defense stands tall in third consecutive conference title SAM BRITT ’20 Sports Editor For the senior class, this conference title caps off the careers of one, if not the most, successful athletic classes in school history.

Kammerinke was a big part of that, and with her two wins over the weekend, she became the active wins leader in all of collegiate field hockey with 63 wins.

“It is definitely a statement,” Kammerinke said. “Building off the past couple of years and all that hard work is paying off and I think that is pretty cool to see.”

With this being their last shot at both a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, Bentz was motivated to make sure the Hawks’ season wouldn’t end on Saturday.

“We stepped on the turf and I said that this was not my last game,” Bentz said. “We have nothing to lose. It is our last year so it is now or never. We aren’t done yet.”

Coming into the A-10 Tournament, St. Joe’s was ranked 13th overall nationally and was the number one seed in the A-10.

With championships the past two years, Olenginksi said the team had to deal with the added expectations prior to the tournament.

“We did feel that pressure on our backs,” Olenginski said. “We are supposed to win. We talked about it as a team and made an effort to turn that pressure into something that fuels us instead of something that makes us afraid to play.”

The team gathered in the Hall of Fame room in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena to watch the NCAA Tournament selection

show on Nov. 10. They found out their opponent on Nov. 15 will be the #2 seeded University of Maryland.

“I’m excited,” Farquhar said. “We were excited to face anybody. You do your best with scheduling and you do your best with every match and I think we put ourselves in a good position.”

The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia at the University of Virginia. The Hawks take on the Terrapins at 2:30 p.m., and the winner moves on to play on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.

St. Joe’s Atlantic 10 Award Winners Offensive Player of the Year: Pepa Serrano Defensive Player of the Year: Kathrin Bentz Coach of the Year: Lynn Farquhar Atlantic 10 All Conference First Team: Serrano, Bentz, Olenginski, Botherway

Atlantic 10 All Conference Second Team: Kammerinke, Boxer, Peters, Blincoe (Top) St. Joe’s won the 2018 A-10 Championship at home on Sweeney Field.

PHOTO: LUKE MALANGA ’20/THE HAWK (Bottom) The 2017 Championship was St. Joe’s first since 1995. PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY SAYRE

Water Polo clinches first division title in club history MATT DELEO ’20 Assistant Sports Editor St. Joe’s club water polo clinched the Mid-Atlantic Club Division B title for the first time in the club’s history after defeating the University of Delaware 19-13 on Nov. 3.

The team finished in sixth place in the Penn State Regional on Nov. 10.

Senior Dan Trout said winning the first division championship for the St. Joe’s water polo club team is something he will never forget.

“I was told by someone close to me to look around and take in the moment,” Trout said. “I will never forget the feeling of truly being grateful. Grateful for my family, friends and teammates.”

Trout said he is also proud of his team-

mate’s work ethic.

“The looks of pure joy and excitement on my teammates’ faces made all the long practices worth it,” Trout said. “Each and every one of them played a crucial role in the end result, which makes me proud of the family atmosphere that we have successfully cultivated.”

Senior Nick Rossi described the feeling of winning the Division A championship.

“Our team has grown immensely over the course of this season,” Rossi said. “For us to finish undefeated and bring home the first ever championship in school history, it’s a dream come true.”

Senior Jake Smith said winning the division has been his goal since his first year at St. Joe’s.

“I am thankful for people who were on

Last season the Hawks went undefeated but fell in the Divisional Championship to West Chester University.

The team finished 1-2 this past weekend at the Penn State Regional.

PHOTOS: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

the team before this year, because without them we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Smith said. “We even had a few alumni come to the game which meant a lot.”

Trout said the refusal to lose faith is the biggest strength for water polo. The team was down 7-2 at half time in the championship game. Trout explained that the team’s confidence never wavered, as they stormed back to win the game 19-12.

“Our talent and leadership is undeniable,” Trout said. “However, championships are won and lost between the ears. We beat a team that was a group of individuals. We are a team.”

Rossi said the team has established a family-first, championship caliber culture that is strong enough to continue competing at a high-level every year for years to come.

When he first joined the team his first

year, the club only had eight people and now they have 30.

Trout said the seniors are thrilled to leave behind a legacy of excellence. He said over the last two seasons, the team is 22-1, and this season alone they went undefeated at 11-0.

“We have proved to be a dominant university and have done it the right way,” Trout said. “We have won with dignity and respect that has been widely noticed throughout the league.”

Trout said the team’s culture extends past water polo, which is why the in-pool chemistry is so strong. This season, they had more team events and made sure each individual was accepted and welcomed.

“I’d take a bullet for anyone on this team,” Rossi said. “Hawks water polo is my St. Joe’s family.”

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Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Student athletes look to lead campus discussions on race NICK KARPINSKI ’21 Special Projects Editor Hawk student athletes, many wearing their respective teams’ warm-up and practice gear, sat among 1,800 St. Joe’s community members in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena on Nov. 4. The gathering was held in response to four reported racial bias incidents that occurred on campus this semester.

Jill Bodensteiner, J.D., director of athletics, said her expectation for the entire St. Joe’s Athletics community and staff was clear: “be there.”

“I expect our student athletes, our coaches and our staff to be leaders,” Bodensteiner said. “This has to be a shared commitment from the entire community.

We’ve got to come together as a full group and make sure that there’s change.”

Bodensteiner sent an email to the St. Joe’s athletics community approximately two hours after the gathering in Hagan. Bodensteiner touched on her sadness and frustration toward the recent “hateful speech” that has been reported on campus.

“There is simply no place for hate in Saint Joseph’s Athletics,” Bodensteiner said in her Nov. 4 email addressed to the athletics community. “For those in our athletics family who are subject to hurtful remarks or conduct, know that you have allies among your teammates, coaches and administrators, and we stand ready to help you in any way that we can.”

During the gathering, the entire wom-

The women’s lacrosse team, along with other St. Joe’s sports teams, attended the forum. PHOTOS: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

en’s basketball team sat together in Hagan, the same building they play and practice in almost every day. Sophomore guard Devyne Newman said it was important to show that athletics is involved in making a change.

“It’s important to show unity so we demonstrate as a community that we need

Approximately 1800 students, faculty and staff attended the Forum on Monday, Nov. 4.

to be united against these things and not divided,” Newman said.

Due to their exposure in representing St. Joe’s on and off campus, student athletes are in a position to lead and bring attention to discussions surrounding race, according to Ian Crookenden, the men’s and women’s tennis head coach.

“We are a team and a community,” Crookenden said. “We’re a segment of the community that’s identifiable through our sport. I want the team to remember that we represent and display the community as a whole.”

Sophomore Asia Whittenberger, the current women’s basketball Hawk and former women’s soccer goalkeeper, spoke at the forum and agreed with Crookenden’s sentiment.

She said student athletes have an enhanced responsibility to lead these discussions.

“Athletes, and the athletics department, hold one of the most looked up to roles on campus,” Whittenberger said. “If the athletics department is speaking on race issues, people will listen.”

Throughout her time at St. Joe’s, Whittenberger has looked up to Bodensteiner as a mentor.

Whittenberger said having people of color in positions of power is critical in order to lead discussions on race. That’s something Bodensteiner has prioritized,

according to Whittenberger.

“She takes notice and she takes action,” Whittenberger said.

In terms of exposure, student athletes are not only seen more frequently on campus, but off it as well. Crookenden said players need to behave and perform in a manner that reflects well on the school wherever they go.

“That’s why we wear the logo,” Crookenden said.

Through the forum, Newman learned about exposure on a more personal level.

“I’m biracial so I almost hide from the conversation just because I don’t want to be involved on either side,” Newman said. “[I want to] embrace it now and be who I am.”

While Bodensteiner wants student athletes to be leaders in discussing issues of race, she also wants to hold them accountable if they are to ever be involved in a racial bias incident like the four that have been reported this semester.

“You better believe that if a student athlete is found responsible [for a racial bias incident] and has not somehow experienced an outcome from the university that meets our expectations, [the athletics department] will deal with it,” Bodensteiner said.

Pickup volleyball games welcome all students RILEY FRAIN ’21 Hawk Staff The students who gather for Net Night, an evening of pick-up volleyball games every Sunday in O’Pake Recreation Center, are also helping to breathe life into the university’s intramural programs, according to organizers and participants.

“One of the big initiatives or pushes from Campus Rec this year has been to reignite the intramural programs that have gone rather dormant the last few years that I’ve been here,” said Student Senate President Adam Mullin ’20.

Mullin, who plays on an intramural volleyball team, has also joined in on Net Night, one of Campus Recreation’s new initiatives this semester.

“It’s all about having fun, about getting to know people on a certain level and allowing anyone to hop on the court who wants to,” Mullin said.

The intramural teams play first, then Net

Net Night takes place every Sunday in O’Pake Recreation Center.

PHOTO: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

Night starts at 4 p.m., welcoming anyone who wants to play.

“Since our building is a little outdated,

we only have one area for volleyball nets to be set up,” said Campus Recreation coordinator Alex Kissinger, who also noted that

O’Pake is the only place on campus where people can play volleyball.

“I figured it would be a good chance just to leave the volleyball nets up on Sundays after intramural, so our intramural participants can stick around and hit the ball around,” Kissinger said. “Also, other students who are interested in volleyball and don’t really have a chance to play anywhere can stop in, meet new people, have a game or just hit the ball around.”

Maggie Hallinan ’22, who plays intramural volleyball and will often stay after her game for Net Night, reiterated that Net Night is laid back and welcomes anyone who wants to play.

“It’s pretty casual,” Hallinan said. “You just show up, get on the side of the court and just have fun and practice or play games.”

Kissinger said her favorite part of the event so far is the sense of community it has created.

“It’s good for other students just to stop in and meet new people as well, and so the camaraderie and socialization is one of my favorite parts,” Kissinger said.

Sports

The Hawk Newspaper

Nov. 13, 2019

15

Men’s hockey undefeated in tournament LILY STEELE ’22 Special to The Hawk For the first time in the program’s almost 50 year history, the St. Joe’s men’s ice hockey club team went 3-0 at the Stephen Russell Memorial Tournament this past weekend in Wilmington, North Carolina. The team now has a 10-3 record.

“We couldn’t be happier with how we played this weekend going 3-0," sophomore forward and assistant captain Liam Morgan said. “They were huge league games that we battled hard in, and ultimately found a way to win each one.”

Coached by Matt McGarvey ’15, the team competes against other schools in the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League.

The Hawks are currently tied for first with George Washington University in the Capital Division of that league.

In the past few years, the team has worked to build depth to match other schools in the

league. This season, there are 25 players on the roster, and senior forward and captain Frankie McVeigh said these additions have contributed to the team’s success.

The new players include freshman goalie Troy Stefano and freshman defenseman Teddy Bacon.

“It’s been a great experience being on the team,” Bacon said. “A lot of the upperclassmen are super welcoming.”

Stefano is the team’s new starting goalie.

Regardless of him being a first-year player, McVeigh said that he has been instrumental to the success of the team.

“Having a new goalie has also been beneficial to our team,” McVeigh said.

Morgan said the relationships the team members have with one another on and off the ice have contributed to the team’s success.

“Knowing that any one of them would do anything for me makes me want to do anything for them,” Morgan said. “It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that has made us successful thus far.”

McVeigh also said those relationships have been key this season.

“You really build a bond with your brothers,” McVeigh said. “It’s a lot more than just playing hockey. You make relationships with the guys on your team, and these are your best friends.”

Team members also said they are encouraged by the fans who show up for their home games at the Skatium, a rink facility in Haverford, about five miles from St. Joe’s campus, where the team also practices twice a week.

“If we have our fans behind us, we’re going to come out a lot faster, start a lot harder, and we want the energy in the building to be up,” McVeigh said.

Senior captain Griffin Pierce also would like to see more student fans at the games.

“We love when the school comes out to support us,” Pierce said. “It gives us that extra energy to get out there and play a lot harder.

It means everything to me and to the rest of the guys.”

The St. Joe’s club hockey program will be celebrating their 50th season this year. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRIFFIN PIERCE ’20

The case for 'load management' in the NBA MATT MIKESIC ’21 Columnist The term “load management” refers to healthy players voluntarily sitting out games for rest purposes. People have really started debating the intricacies of load management following the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) $50,000 fine of Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers following comments he made about the health of Kawhi Leonard.

When talking to reporters on Nov. 6, Rivers said Leonard, “feels great,” which contradicted the NBA’s statement that supported the Clipper’s decision to sit Leonard, who was listed as managing a knee injury.

Leonard is the central figure in the load management debate currently going on in the NBA. Last season with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard sat out 22 regular season games for rest purposes and did not play in a single back-to-back game. However, the strategy seemed to pay off, and the Raptors won the NBA Finals while being led by Leonard, who was given the NBA Finals MVP Award.

While it seems like load management could be the future of the NBA, there are some players who don’t seem to like the trend. LeBron James, a notorious iron horse in the NBA, said in an interview: “If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not, I’m playing. That’s what has always been my motto.”

Personally, I think the difficulty in discussing load management and resting is that every player’s body is different.

Of course there are players who are able to go out every night and play high volumes of minutes every game without suffering injuries, but I think that looking at these players and holding every player to the same standard is unrealistic. An 82 game season puts a lot of stress on players, both mentally and physically, and I think it is healthy for them to take a break every once in a while.

Another thing to consider when talking about players resting is injury history. Leonard has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, so it makes sense to me that as he

GRAPHIC: MITCHELL SHIELDS ’22/THE HAWK

gets older he wants to manage how much stress he subjects himself to.

Players like James who are still playing every night and putting up all-star numbers in their mid 30s should be looked at for what they are: an anomaly, not a benchmark for other players of his caliber.

Lastly, there are some people who will argue that players voluntarily sitting out games is unfair to fans who pay to go to the games.

After all, in the case of the Nov. 2 Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks game, a potential battle between the NBA Finals MVP Award recipient Leonard and the NBA MVP Award recipient Giannis Antetokounmpo, the news of Leonard sitting was announced well after the game was sold out and put on the slate for national coverage. Still, as a fan, I would much rather see a player rest if they felt that it was necessary to stay healthy for the rest of the season than see that player force themselves to play and risk an injury.

Overall, the load management debate is one that seems to have no definite answer.

One thing that can be said is that maybe an 82 game regular season is too long and puts too much stress on players’ bodies.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if more players start resting more often, or if they will be opposed to the idea, as well as if the NBA will do anything to make things easier for players.

JAMES MCCLOSKEY JR. ’20 Columnist Last spring, the athletic department announced that all student tickets will be free for the 2019-20 men’s and women’s home basketball games. The reaction by the student body was pure excitement. I, too, was excited to not have to pay $80 to attend basketball games.

Then, it hit me.

The proclamation of free tickets is the athletic department’s way of saying this team is not worth paying to watch.

The attendance of students at men’s games this season will drop significantly compared to what it has in the past because students have no incentive to attend games.

When I was paying $80 at the start of the season, I made sure I was in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena for every home game.

If I am paying in advance for these games, I will guarantee my attendance.

Now that tickets are free, what is the incentive for the student body to attend games?

It certainly isn’t a first place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference or a projected NCAA Tournament bid projected by Joe Lunardi, ESPN pundit and former director of marketing and broadcasting at St. Joe’s.

Throughout my four years at St. Joe’s, the tickets for the women’s basketball games at Hagan Arena have also been free.

The attendance reflects that.

The women’s basketball team has the skill and ability to make waves in the A-10 this season. The A-10 preseason rankings has them finishing in 10th place, which is higher than the men’s team, but does not reflect the skillset the women’s team will bring to the court this season.

Is making student tickets free to men’s games Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner’s, J.D., way of evening the playing field for students to attend men’s and women’s home games this season? Doubtful.

Free tickets are an attempt to gain a positive review from the student body after five players, with eligibility, left the team at the end of last season and some recruits decommitted due to the abrupt and poorly timed firing of former Head Coach Phil Martelli.

The first game of the season for the men’s basketball team saw a packed student section witnessing Head Coach Billy Lange’s first victory as the Hawk’s head coach. I expect the next home game against Saint Francis University will see similar attendance from students because they are expecting another victory.

The first time the Hawks lose at home this season, the student section will decrease in attendance. The Hawks won’t be undefeated at home this season. Each time a loss at Hagan Arena occurs, fewer students will come back. It has been this way for each of my four years on Hawk Hill.

Free tickets won’t change that.

If anything, free tickets will make the drop in student attendance happen even quicker. Students have no motivation to watch a team that is projected to finish in the bottom quarter of the A-10.

If you will be in attendance for every men’s game for the simple fact that tickets are free, you better be in Hagan Arena for every women’s game too. If you are not in class, you no longer have an excuse not to attend.

Free tickets to the men’s basketball games serve as a way for the athletic department to get students in seats for the start of the season to show the public that they are doing something right. In reality, free tickets have devalued the men’s basketball team just as the women’s team has been devalued for years.

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Sports

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Rugby wins conference, eyes nationals

The men's rugby team has lost in the D1AA National Championship the last two years. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SJU RUGBY

RYAN MULLIGAN ’21 Assistant Sports Editor For the fourth straight year St. Joe’s rugby finished the regular season sitting atop their conference, capturing the D1AA Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference Championship.

They finished the regular season with a record of 8-0. Their campaign was dominant, scoring nearly triple the amount of points as they allowed, outscoring opponents 364-117. By winning their conference, the Hawks secured a spot in the National Championship, held in North Carolina. The quarterfinals and semifinals take place on Nov. 23 and 24, with the National Championship taking place two weeks following on Dec. 8.

Although Head Coach Daniel Yarusso called the Hawks’ run the past four years, “a little dynasty,” both he and senior captain Noah Niumataiwalu admitted that their most important objective now is to capture that elusive national title.

“It’s always good to get a conference championship,” Niumataiwalu said. “But the real goal is this national championship we’ve been eyeing up for years. We’ve missed twice and I couldn’t imagine us missing a third time. We’re really eager. We want to take it one game at a time, but that’s the end game.”

The team’s consistent regular season success has created a sort of culture that expects to win, something that Niumataiwalu said he saw shift during his four years.

“The sophomore grade, now with Jonathan Ahern and Matthew Riotto, I think they did a great job of just coming in and adapting to that culture right away,” Niumataiwalu said. “That was one of the first times I saw where there wasn’t a year of transition for them to get to that point. It was that first year they started to see, this is the culture and we’re just going to take it and run with it.”

Ahern, a sophomore, was third in the conference in points and led the team in the same category. However, he credited the senior class with laying a foundation for all of the younger players.

“The level of excellence that the older players have shown me both on and off the

field has taught me about the success this team strives for,” Ahern said. “It is now my job to continue the success long after these seniors have graduated and teach the incoming players the same winning traditions that the senior class has taught me.”

Despite the string of conference titles, the team didn’t come into the year with the same sense of certainty as in the past. However, Niumataiwalu said Yarusso preaches a“next man up” mentality that has paid off throughout the year.

“We’ve had a lot of different challenges this season,” Yarusso said. “There were some question marks coming into the year having graduated 19 seniors last year.

We’ve answered those questions and have continued on the success that we’ve had in

previous years.”

Yarusso, Niumataiwalu and Ahern said winning the National Championship would mean much more to the program and the university than just a trophy.

“For this team, a national championship would mean everything,” Ahern said. “The past two years, we have fallen short. This year is different. This team, especially these seniors, have a distinct drive. They know how it feels to lose. They know that their class can change the outcome and with the other classes to back them up, we have full confidence that we can make it. It’s all about our execution from here on out.”

While Ahern wants to win for the seniors, Niumataiwalu also wants the victory for those who have worn the Hawks uni-

form before him.

“It would mean so much to us as a senior class, but the guys that graduated before us, they would be so thankful,” Niumataiwalu said. “They would be ecstatic.

They talk to us every day still, asking, ‘Are we going to be able to get it done this year?’

We’re looking to bring something for everyone to be proud of.”

For Yarusso, the conference title and the regular season were preparation for the ultimate goal of winning the National Championship.

“That expectation of when we get to North Carolina and that opening whistle blows and the opening kickoff happens, it’s what we do now in preparation of that that matters,” Yarusso said.

Sophmore Joey Hawach and senior James Kinzer embrace after the team clinched their conference champions status with a win over the University of Delaware on Nov. 2.