The Hofstra
HEMPSTEAD, NY Volume 83 Issue 6
Chronicle
Tuesday
october 24, 2017
Keeping the hofstra Community informed since 1935
Public Safety scrutinized in handling of student intoxication and hospital transports By Heather Konefsky SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R O NI CL E
When students are over-intoxicated they can be transported to the hospital at the discretion of Public Safety (PS). However, multiple incidents of alleged unprofessionalism regarding PS officers have left students feeling uneasy about the process. One student who was transported, but wished to remain anonymous, said, “I used my last percent [of battery] around 2 [a.m.] to call my mom and she told me that [PS was] coming to get me. I asked and asked several times without having contact with anyone for hours and PS finally picked me up around 5 [a.m.].”
Juwan Wood, a junior computer science and film major, walked home from the Nassau University Medical Center after being transported his freshman year because nobody came to pick him up. “To be honest, PS was the last thing on my mind. They don’t do anything but cause me trouble on campus, so I wouldn’t expect help from them when I’m off campus,” Wood said.
All PS officers are certified first responders and a few are emergency medical technicians, according to Robert McDon-
ambulance if necessary. Nassau County police will also arrive on scene. McDonald said a police officer is required to ride in the ambulance with the student to the hospital. According to Hofstra’s website, “Your student will go to the ER in the ambulance alone. However, if your student is a resident student, Public Safety notifies Hofstra’s
“They don’t do anything but cause me trouble on campus, so I wouldn’t expect help from them when I’m off campus.”
ald, the associate director of Operations for PS. When PS is called, they will evaluate the intoxicated student and call an
director on duty that a student had been transported to the ER. The director on duty then visits the hospital and acts as an advocate for your student. The director on duty stays with the student until he or she is admitted, discharged, or until a family member arrives.” Depending on the amount of assistance needed, students may remain at the hospital for the night or for just a few hours. “If the student’s medical condition requires they be treated at the hospital, PS requests an ambulance for their transportation as our vehicles are not equipped for medical transport,” said Continued on A5
Justice Sotomayor talks race, immigration and motivation By Michael Ortiz & Jill Leavey EDITOR - I N - C H I E F / ASSISTA N T N E W S E D I TO R
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had an intimate conversation with Hofstra’s law students about how she made it from the Bronx to the bench, at a closed event in the Helene Fortunoff Theater on Monday, Oct. 16. The event began with a short sit-down interview orchestrated by the dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law, A. Gail Prudenti; however, it quickly became more personal as Sotomayor began taking questions from students, walking to them for a photo and shaking hands on the way. Sotomayor touched on many different areas within the hourlong event, from what motivates her to how she perceives fellow justices on the court. “My colleagues – every one of them
– is as passionate as I am about the work we do. We all love the country,” she said. “I disagree fiercely with some of them – there isn’t one justice who doesn’t love the United States of America, our Constitution, our system of justice any less than I do. In fact, that passion drives some of the fiery dissents that we throw at one another.” Law students entered a lottery to attend the event. Those with questions entered another lottery that was narrowed
down both by the law school and Sotomayor’s team.
Danielle Leavy, a second year law student, asked the first of the students’ questions and expressed her admiration of Sotomayor. “I’m from Long Island, I don’t have any lawyers or any kind of law background in my family and being a woman, I do feel that connection with her,” she said. Some of Sotomayor’s more pointed statements came on the topics of racism and immigration. “There are views surrounding sensitive issues like racism where people can feel very personally attacked. But in most
Yanni Lainis / Hofstra Chronicle Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks to law students in the Helene Fortunoff Theater on Oct. 16.
instances, a lot of expressed views are born in fear of people’s insecurity about what things mean to them,” Sotomayor said. “Immigration is a highly contentious issue in our society. I’m often asked my position and my response is always ‘this is not my issue as a justice. This is our issue as a society, as a part of America.’” As the first of his siblings to graduate high school, first- year law student Henderson Huihui asked Sotomayor about her ability to thrive when she was raised in a situation that was not advantageous to the career she pursued. “I just felt kind of disadvantaged hearing some of my peers saying they have relatives that are lawyers and relatives that are working in other professional fields and I just felt disadvantaged in that way,” Huihui said. Continued on A2
A2•october 24, 2017
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Sotomayor encourages acceptance of difference Chronicle Editor-in-Chief Michael Ortiz
Continued from A1 Sotomayor responded by discerning the difference between stupidity and ignorance. “Stupid is the lack of capacity to understand, ignorance is the lack of exposure to know. Most of us are ignorant about things we don’t know. But lots of us are ashamed of admitting ignorance because we confuse it with stupidity,” Sotomayor said. Huihui, who grew up in Waimanalo on O’ahu in Hawaii, felt he could relate to Sotomayor’s motivation to succeed. “I’ll just always remember to remember who I am and not to be ashamed of my upbringing and who I am as a person,” he said. In a rare moment of selfdoubt, Sotomayor reconsidered accepting President Barack Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 2009. Looking for advice, Sotomayor turned to a friend who reminded her that becoming the first Latina and third female justice, is bigger than her. “This is not about you. This is about you reaching a position that is important for other people to look up to. I have hope about my daughter and other little girls looking there and saying ‘I can do that too,’” Sotomayor said, recalling her friend’s advice. For many students, especially female law students looking
Managing Editor Laurel O’Keefe Business Manager Erin Kiley News Editor Katie Krahulik Danny Nikander Assistant News Editor Jill Leavey A&E Editor Rob Dolen Assistant A&E Editor Samantha Storms Jake R. Roy / Hofstra Chronicle Justice Sotomayor shares advice with Hofstra’s aspiring law professionals.
to pursue a career in a maledominated field, the opportunity was surreal. Sotomayor was unapologetic in describing who she is and where she is from. “I’m the first person to go to law school in my family, so I especially like what she said about ‘fit in, don’t lose yourself,’ because where you come from is so important and it does impact you the most as a person,” said Elizabeth Barecin, a first year law student. Sotomayor explained how a judge’s life experience inevitably has an effect on their decisions. She specifically spoke of Safford Unified School District v. Redding, a case involving a public school strip-searching a student after
she took an aspirin, which was not permitted under the school’s anti-drug policy. The parents of the student sued, citing wrongful search and seizure. Sotomayor was not on the bench when the court heard this case, but she said the male justices could not fully understand the young girl’s grievance. “I know how horrifying it would have been for me at 13 to undress before an adult that I didn’t give permission, to have that adult touch me. It would have been life scarring,” she said. She further explained how the balance of the court allowed for an opinion free of potentially damaging language. “Whether it’s the words you
Yanni Lainis / Hofstra Chronicle Law Dean A. Gail Prudenti presents Justice Sotomayor with custom Hofstra baseball jersey.
use, the analogies you make, the sentiments you convey, we as a collective group of justices help each other avoid unnecessary classification, analogy, sentiments that are not necessary to the opinion or to its outcome,” Sotomayor said. The justice’s candid discussion inspired law students to reflect and embrace their perceived weaknesses as strengths. “As far as being a minority woman, being a Muslim-Bengali woman from Queens, I definitely understand the magnitude of a lot of what she was saying,” said Mehrin Bakht, a second year law student. “The sense of belonging you sometimes don’t feel, the difference between ignorance and stupidity really spoke a lot to me.” At the conclusion of the event, Prudenti presented Sotomayor with a customized baseball jersey with “Hofstra” on the front and “Sotomayor 99” on the back – a nod to her being the 99th associate justice of the Supreme Court. President Stuart Rabinowitz said, “For the students to hear a justice be so personal and honest and down to earth and forthright – and give them personal advice on their legal careers – is priceless.” Sotomayor received an honorary law degree from Hofstra in 2006, three years prior to her nomination to the Supreme Court.
Sports Editors Kevin Carroll PJ Potter Joe Fay @Hofstra Editors Allison Eichler Mack Caldwell
Assistant @Hofstra Editors
Rachel Bowman Emily Barnes
Editorial Editors Kirnendra Sidhu Andy Sahadeo Assistant Editorial Editor Gisela Factora Copy Chiefs Sarah Kocher Marie Haaland Assistant Copy Chief Erin Hickey Multimedia Editors Jesse Saunders Peter Soucy Social Media Manager Brian Sommer The Chronicle is published every Tuesday during the academic year by the students of Hofstra University. The Chronicle is located in Room 203 Student Center, 200 Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y. 11549. Advertising and subscription rates may be obtained by calling (516) 463-6921. The Chronicle reserves the right to reject any submission, in accordance with our written policies. All advertising which may be considered fraudulent, misleading, libelous or offensive to the University community, The Chronicle or its advertisers may be refused. The products and opin-ions expressed within advertisement are not endorsed by The Chronicle or its staff.
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october 24, 2017•A3
Academic progress tracked via new portal feature By Andrea Bilton STAFF WR I T E R
Hofstra’s Division of Student Affairs officially introduced a new feature available to students via the portal on Oct. 18: the ability to view midsemester advisory reports. This allows professors to update their students in the middle of the semester with a progress report and inform them if their performance is satisfactory or not. “Based on review of the research on student success and persistence along with a review of peer institutions, the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee in the University Senate recommended the Mid Semester Advisory Reports,” a statement issued by the Student Success CONNECT leadership team read. The team is led by Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Jean Peden Christodoulou and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Internationalization Neil Donahue. The faculty passed the policy
in May 2017 to be implemented this fall. These reports can be accessed by locating the “Reports” tab through Student Success CONNECT on students’ individual portal. Students will then be able to view whether or not their professor has marked them “At Risk” in regards to performance.
University Advising, the Center for Academic Excellence and faculty advisors to reach out and help students work to address any particular issues a student might be having, academic or otherwise.”
they want to know what they can do about it. But my hope is that by getting a report in the middle of the semester that alerts them if they’re not doing so well, the students will then take advantage of all that we offer them.”
“It’s part of our goal as educators to make sure that our students learn ... and giving feedback is a large form of learning.”
Following the release of these reports, students are encouraged to meet with their professors to discuss how to improve their performance if it is not declared satisfactory. “The Mid Semester Advisory is intended to be a check-in and conversation starter,” the CONNECT team said in the statement. “It also allows the advisors in the Center for
Dr. Elisabeth Ploran, a professor in the Department of Psychology, said she looks forward to the implementation of these reports. “Not enough students take advantage of office hours,” Ploran said. “And they don’t always email professors when they don’t understand things – it’s only when there’s two weeks left and they’ve realized they are going to get a D or a C and
Nathaniel Perez, a sophomore finance major, said that he believes the reports are a great addition to the portal. “A few of my teachers in the past have avoided posting grades until right before the final,” Perez said. “But I like the fact that now they are required to give us a progress report in the middle of the semester, so we know exactly how we’re doing and whether or not we are
a friend that it was happening and that’s how I knew about it. Again, it could have been better executed, but the mere fact that they had it was good enough.” The event, which was
friends and that’s all we’ve got,” said Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students Sofia Pertuz. Vice President of Student Affairs W. Houston Dougharty read a variation on the prayer of St. Francis, which calls for peace. “It’s always meaningful when we come together as a community, but I think it’s particularly meaningful when it’s students and student leaders who bring us together to support each other and to think about Hofstra as a community, but also [about] issues in the world at large,” Dougharty said. Several more poems about
going to pass the class.” The CONNECT team also stresses the opportunity for academic departments and advisors to pinpoint patterns that appear in a student’s work across the curriculum instead of only one course. “On one hand I really enjoy this new feature,” said Veronica Catricala, a sophomore psychology major. “But on the other hand, I’m worried that by having the ability to view a progress report without completing a wide selection of assignments, you might get the wrong idea about your grade … you might get a lot of anxiety and assume that you’re going to fail if the progress report is sent out after only completing one exam, and it seems like just another unnecessary aspect of college to stress about.” Yet Ploran asserts that evaluation is an important tool to ensure the success of college students. “It’s part of our goal as educators to make sure that our students learn,” she said, “and giving feedback is a large form of learning.”
Vigil held for victims of Las Vegas shooting
By Alixandra Wilkens STAFF W R I T E R
Members of the Hofstra community gathered on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 12, in front of Hofstra Hall for a candlelit Vigil for Peace in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Two weeks earlier, 58 concertgoers lost their lives when a gunman opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The event was organized by the Student Government Association with the help of the Center for Civic Engagement and the Division of Student Affairs. “A senator on the Club Relations committee approached Chairperson [Aleksandra] Radeva with the idea to hold a vigil. Once we heard about it, [SGA Vice President] Abby [Normandin] and I met together and began the planning process,” said SGA President
Rita Cinquemani, a senior accounting and political science major. Los Angeles resident Sarah Mendoza, a senior mass media studies major at Hofstra, knew survivors and a victim who lost her life in the shooting. Since she could not attend the vigil back home, she went to Hofstra’s vigil but was disappointed by what she characterized as insincerity. “I think it was important that Hofstra went out of their way to put on this vigil, but it wasn’t well publicized,” Mendoza said. “I never got an email, and I actually found out through
“To those who have lost loved ones, we are all so deeply sorry for your loss; and to those who are still healing, know that you will always have a support system in our Pride.”
intended to promote empathy and comfort amongst students, began with opening remarks from Cinquemani and administration officials. “During tragic moments, togetherness is what really helps. It helps all of our families, it helps all of our
peace and life after tragedy were recited and then followed with a moment of silence. “I think having the event at a venue right outside Hofstra Hall was the ideal environment to host something like this where people can all stand together [and] literally stand in solidarity,” said Jackson Spear, a senior English major. The Vigil for Peace concluded with students signing a Banner for Peace while Cinquemani thanked those who gave their support to the arrangement of the vigil. “Change starts not with one person, but it is accomplished when there is unity and understanding,” Cinquemani said. “To those who have lost loved ones, we are all so deeply sorry for your loss; and to those who are still healing, know that you will always have a support system in our Pride.”
A4•october 24, 2017
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Domestic violence survivor shares his story By Leo Brine STA FF WR ITER
Hofstra hosted the Nassau County Domestic Violence Awareness Ceremony for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The event educated the community about the reality and scope of domestic violence and offered resources for those affected by it. One speaker, who will be referred to as Anthony, shared his story and emphasized the message “if you see something, say something.” “For the first 13 years of my life I lived in fear,” said Anthony, a survivor of domestic and sexual assault. He told his story of abuse and eventual escape from the torment at the hands of his father. Anthony then detailed his battle with drug addiction and alcoholism – something many domestic abuse survivors struggle with. Sandy Oliva, the coexecutive director for the Safe Center Long Island, has been
working to put an end to domestic violence and abuse. During the event she was presented with an award acknowledging her dedication to spreading awareness and attempting to initiate a transformation in our society. “We’ve made many changes for victims and their families … but despite these changes there’s still more to do,” Oliva said. During the event, the audience was presented with data depicting the severity of the problem. “We’ve come to understand that when it comes to social change, there is no peace or silence … silence only perpetuates,” Oliva said. One such change comes in the form of a bill proposed by New York State Assemblyman David McDonough. His bill would require any abuse that happens in a school – public or private – to be reported; currently only New York public schools are legally required to report abuse. Sara Whitman, a senior journalism major, left the event with a sense of security knowing
there were so many outlets she could go to if she ever needed them. “I honestly thought the government didn’t do enough, but after [the ceremony] I see that at least Long Island is doing a lot,” Whitman said. “I am a lot more aware of the resources on Long Island and I am happier knowing those resources are available.” Students who attended the ceremony walked away better informed about all aspects of domestic violence. “[Abuse] is not something you see in men and [his story] made me more aware,” said Christina Robert, a junior community health major. On campus, Hofstra offers resources such as counseling services, educational workshops and collaborative programs with the Safe Center. Allison Vernace, the Title IX Officer for Student Issues, said, “Interested students can reach out directly to Katie Wigdzinski from the Safe Center at 516-465-4769.”
Female entrepreneurs empower others to follow
By Alixandra Wilkens STAFF W R I T E R
The Center for Entrepreneurship hosted a panel to discuss the current progression and involvement of women in the world of entrepreneurship on Oct. 19 as part of the Global Women in Entrepreneurship Week. The panel featured an array of female entrepreneurs who explained the cultural hoops they had to jump through and how they found success in their respective fields. Stacey Sikes, the senior assistant dean for administration in the Center of Entrepreneurship, explained this is the second year the center has participated in this event. “Last year the Feliciano Center at Montclair State University, which is our counterpart, approached us to discuss Global Women in Entrepreneurship Week,” she said. “We partnered with the Frank G. Zarb School of Business to hold this event, and we are again.” The panel was moderated by Dr. Janet Lenaghan, the vice dean of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business and the
recipient of the 2016 and 2003 Hofstra Teacher of the Year Awards. She began by pointing out that while there is a two-tothree ratio of female-owned to male-owned businesses in the U.S., this does not deter women from achieving success. “There’s [still] hope,” Lenaghan said. “Despite the hurdles women face, the number of companies owned by women is growing. According to the Huffington Post, women-owned businesses are growing at twice the growth rate of those owned by men.” Panelist Felicia Fleitman is the founder of Savvy Hires, a workforce development and on-boarding firm, as well as the co-executive director of RecruitLI, a non-profit seeking to stimulate economic growth and opportunity. She stressed the importance of networking and “getting to know the community, trying to meet as many people as possible, collecting business cards and then doing what most people don’t do,
which is following up.” Margo Cargill, the founder and CEO of Titanium Linx Consulting, Inc., a diversified global management firm, is the 2017 U.S. Small Business Administration Minority Champion of the Year. She said one of the
Presidents Organization for over two decades. She advocated for women to take negotiation courses to overcome certain hurdles in the workplace. “We are not going to be equal until we are financially equal,” Roberts said. Robyn Herman is counsel to the New York City office of Hunter Taubman Fischer and Li, a corporate and securities firm, and she helps businesses launch and grow with investor plans. She said, “There’s really no such thing as failure. There’s adapting and there’s pivoting, and if you’re going to be an entrepreneur you have to be able to take what you are doing and continuously adapt it.” Special Assistant Professor to the Zarb School of Business Lutisha S. Vickerie received Best Conceptual Paper Award and Best Doctoral Student Paper Award at the Unites States Association for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship Conference. She said her biggest success
“You have to have that bold, tenacious spirit. Just step into the room and be a part of it.” biggest challenges to overcome is a person’s own fear. “I can’t tell you how many opportunities I’ve had based on the sheer fact that I was in the room,” she said. “You have to have that bold, tenacious spirit. Just step into the room and be a part of it.” Hofstra’s own Entrepreneurin-Residence, Barbara Roberts, writes, teaches and speaks often about entrepreneurship and being the New York and Long Island Chair for the Women
was “following my intuition for what I could do with my life. I’m here, right now, and this is exactly where I want to be.” Andrew Weisenberger, a senior marketing major, found the panel “interesting and eyeopening. It really shows you how important it is to collaborate with women.” Elise Wright, a senior and marketing and international business major, and Stacie Camirand, a senior entrepreneurship and marketing major, agreed; both called the panel “inspiring.” Wright added that college students – both female and male – should be aware of the challenges women face because they are the ones who will determine whether such obstacles are perpetuated or ended. “I think it happens from both ends,” Camirand said. “Whether you see it in college or not, when you graduate, there are going to be things that you didn’t expect, so I think it’s really important to be aware of that and fight that from the start.”
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october 24, 2017•A5
Rules of media Public Safety promotes evolving in the input on officer conduct Trump era Continued from A1
Karen O’Callaghan, the director of PS. “If that student who went to the hospital via ambulance requires transportation back, they are directed to contact PS, who will assist when a vehicle is available. This is only for students who are transported to Nassau University Medical Center, the closest hospital to campus,” O’Callaghan said. Complaints have circulated campus about how PS handles intoxicated students. Another student who wanted to remain anonymous as they recounted their experience assisting an over-intoxicated friend said, “They were joking around and yelling and being really obnoxious while I was holding onto her and [she] was crying. They just didn’t really seem
to care about the person they were dealing with as much as themselves.” The student explained to PS that they did not like the officer’s tone and said PS made snarky comments. “They signed up for this job and just because they see emergencies a bunch
students do not want to contact PS because they are afraid of getting in trouble. Hofstra, however, retains a medical amnesty policy, meaning that students will not be in trouble for being intoxicated if they are calling to get a friend medical help. “It depends on circumstances. If we get a call about a loud party and PS responds and there is more than what is legal in the room, then the host and some other people may get a referral. That’s more of a conduct issue,” McDonald said. “If we have someone who is intoxicated and a roommate or friend calls, we will not go after them. We are here to help, not out to get you,” McDonald said. He explained that if there is any question regarding whether someone is stable, PS should be called. McDonald said, “If they cannot walk, they cannot speak properly or their speech is really slurred, you should call us.”
“They just didn’t really seem to care about the person they were dealing with as much as themselves.”
doesn’t mean they should stop treating each one as an actual emergency. Their whole attitude changed when the police came and they weren’t responsible anymore, which made me even more mad,” the student said. If students feel like a situation has been improperly handled, PS encourages students to report it and the complaint will reach McDonald. McDonald said that many
Public Safety Briefs Compiled by Taylor Clarke and Ava Mandel
On Oct. 13, a student residing in the Netherlands reported to PS that she has been involved in an ongoing harassment dispute with one of her suitemates since the beginning of the semester. The situation was referred to ORL. On Oct. 13, a graduate student reported to PS that at some time between 5:30 p.m. and 7:10 p.m., while he was having a meeting in C.V. Starr, six pizzas and six bottles of soda were delivered and placed outside of the room. After the meeting, it was discovered that one of the pizzas and a large bottle of Coke had been taken.
A search was conducted and proved negative. Police assistance was declined. On Oct. 14, while on patrol, PS discovered several bike locks cut and damaged in bike racks in the Netherlands South. A search was conducted and proved negative. An investigation is being conducted. On Oct. 17, a student reported that at some time between 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 13 and 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, she left her wallet inside her suite in Delft House in the Netherlands. When she returned, she discovered items missing from her wallet. Police assistance
was declined. An investigation is being conducted. On Oct. 19, a student reported that at some time between 8 p.m. on Oct. 12 and 8 a.m. on Oct. 18, his bike lock was cut and his bicycle was missing from the bike rack in Netherlands North. Police assistance was declined at the time. An investigation is being conducted.
Key
PS: Public Safety ORL: Office of Residence Life
By Taylor Clarke STA FF WRITER
Hofstra students, faculty members and attending guests filled the theater of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center to engage in an important conversation regarding media coverage of the White House. The discussion “Breaking News or Making News?” held on Thursday, Oct. 19, included the issue of fake news, public trust in the media, Donald Trump’s presidency and how the role of the media in politics is changing drastically. The event took place as part of Hofstra’s Kalikow panel, which strives to inform and engage students in current political affairs. The panel was sponsored by the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy sdfjs;dlfjk;sldkfj;aldfjk and International Affairs, in conjunction with the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the Hofstra Cultural Center. It focused on the tension between the current political administration and journalists. The panel discussion featured the well-recognized political figures Howard Dean, Edward Rollins and Tom DeFrank. Moderator Dr. Meena Bose is the director for the Kalikow Center. “What people’s view of the press is, really, is a function of what they think. If you love President Trump, you’re going to think the media is out to get him. If you don’t like President Trump, you’ll think the media is doing God’s work,” said DeFrank, a contributing editor for the National Journal. Rollins discussed Trump’s understanding and use of new media methods and the drastic change in political communication over time. “When I was in the White House, the president would put out a news release, the president would put out a press release. The press release was thought through, it was checked off, it was usually 99 percent
accurate,” Rollins said. “Today Donald Trump gets up at 5:30 and puts out a tweet and 53 million people get it.” Rollins has possessed managerial roles in 10 presidential campaigns and served in the administrations of four U.S. presidents. Rollins served at the highest level in the White House as assistant to the president for two presidencies. Bose asked Dean to share some input with the audience about the complicated relationship between an elected official and the media. “This is incredibly complicated because both journalism and politics is going through an enormous flux and nobody can know where it’s going to end up,” Dean explained. “The rules are changing dramatically and I think it’s because it’s a corporatization of the media,” he said. “I think the real problem is that news has become a profit center.” Dean served as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was a U.S presidential candidate and six-term governor of Vermont. He currently serves as a senior strategic advisor and independent consultant for the government affairs practice at an international law firm. Despite differing political views, the panelists discussed pressing issues that aspiring journalists are faced with each day in the classroom. Bose turned the discussion over to the audience, allowing attending guests to ask the panel questions regarding the news, Trump’s presidency and the future of political media. “At the end of the day, we’ll survive Trump. He may turn out to be a decent president. Who knows?” said Rollins, the lead strategist for Great America, a pro-Trump super PAC. “But don’t lose faith in the system. The system is an extraordinary system and it’s what many other countries around the world and new democracies try to evolve themselves.”
@Hofstra
A6 • October 24, 2017
Overheard In Constitution:
Honestly, what did happen to the male crop top? Bring it back.
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Hofstra
@
In Colonial Square:
In Salem House:
I’m gonna get rejected so hard this weekend I can’t wait. New year, new me.
Why don’t we celebrate white heritage?
It’s f*cking October.
We did. It was called white supremacy and Nazism and I don’t wanna do that again.
In LH Comm: I’m an equal opportunity douchebag.
In Breslin: Anyone who uses scented tampons cannot be trusted.
By Gisela Factora
New season, new me.
On the Unispan: That was my thought that it would definitely lead to a yeast infection, man.
‘Don’t be a drag, just be a queen’
ASSISTANT EDITORIAL EDITOR
In the days leading up to the drag show, I binge-watched season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” again because Brooklyn-based queen and season nine competitor Aja was going to be headlining and I was beyond excited. Last year’s drag show was insanely cool, even though I was just there as a photographer. I got to watch my friends and the drag queens we idolize transform and hang out backstage with “Drag Race” alum Latrice Royale and future “Drag Race” contestant Yuhua Hamasaki (you didn’t hear that from me though). I was also able to experience the power of a community coming together to mourn the recent Pulse shooting and celebrate how beautiful it was to be alive and openly, bravely queer. This year I still took pictures as Pride Network’s semi-unofficial photographer, but I also was playing another role: performing. In drag. For the first time. Yeah, I was beyond excited, but I was also just the slightest bit terrified. The day of the drag show arrived and doing everyday things like going to class seemed even more boring than usual. I went
because I’m a “good student,” but I couldn’t stop thinking about the difference between my classmates’ perceived image of me versus who I am outside of class. Like, we’re quietly discussing the inverted pyramid writing structure now, but do they know that in a few hours I’m transforming into a genderfuck ‘80s glam rock star? The time to transform into said genderfuck came and I went straight home from class to slip into something a little more uncomfortable. Tight white jeans, a belt borrowed from my girlfriend (I really have to get some of my own), a white binder that makes my chest appear flat and a torn leather jacket I picked up from a consignment store in San Francisco my sophomore year of high school. I was going to put on a shirt over the binder, but I cast a glance at myself in the mirror with just the jacket over the binder. I sent a pic to my queer group chat inquiring whether I should just go for it and was met with a resounding “YES,” all caps included, so I decided to. After the drag show, I was going to leave for Boston for the long weekend and hadn’t packed. I had barely rehearsed what I was doing and was a little nervous
about singing in a binder because of the whole chest compression thing. I multitasked and went through my song one more time as I threw whatever clean clothes I could find into my suitcase. To my relief, singing wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Granted, it was a lot different from singing while moving around in an auditorium packed with more than 300 people, but I pushed that concern to the back of my head for a later time. Like, in half an hour, when I was due for sound check. In classic drag fashion, the show was running very late. I arrived at Monroe about 10 minutes after my call time, only to find that they hadn’t even started doing sound check. Eventually I ran sound for my solo number and my duet with my friend Matt. After that, we headed to the basement of Berliner where our dressing room awaited. I chuckled to myself because this was the first time I’d ever even been in Berliner, a science hall, and of course it was for a drag show. I sat my makeup bag and guitar case down and complained about how uncomfortable my binder was. “I didn’t even realize you were binding,” said a freshman
with bright teal hair that I had seen around a few times. I asked him if he was and he replied that he used to, lifting up his shirt to show me the scars from top surgery. I congratulated him, impressed that a freshman is achieving his transition goals at such a young age. We all chatted as we did our makeup, most of us familiar with one another, and those who were not, quickly became acquainted. I learned that the teal-haired freshman’s name is Dallon and I borrowed a foundation that was too dark for him, a pale white boy, as undereye concealer. I did my friend Serena’s makeup and borrowed a lot of Matt’s makeup. This sharing felt almost like some abstracted version of the teen girl ritual of getting ready to go out together. “My mom doesn’t understand why I do drag,” Dallon said. “’Why would you transition if you’re just going to be dressing up like a girl anyway?’” We all laughed and rolled our eyes at the ignorance. So often people who aren’t familiar with drag culture assume that the point of drag is to be as “passable” as possible, that all drag queens are cisgender white gay men or that drag is inherently transphobic.
But as I looked around the dressing room, I noticed that literally none of us fit that bill. We are butch lesbians, straight women, trans men, trans women, nonbinary folks and intersex folks – and some of us are more than one at the same time. What we have in common is that we are all there to mess with people’s idea of what gender is and what it can be. Me, for example, I’m a brown butch lesbian. I often pass for male in my everyday life. Contrary to popular belief, that’s not why I’m butch. I hate being perceived as a man and I hate that people’s idea of womanhood cannot extend beyond a woman in a dress and heels. But that night, I left that world behind; the world where I am harassed in the bathroom for not conforming enough to femininity. That night, I was intentionally transforming myself from a gender nonconforming woman to a gender nonconforming man a la Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. That night, I performed in a world where small town girls could be dominatrixes, boys from the hood could be glamorous idols and I could be one of those sexually ambiguous ‘80s glam rock stars I idolized as a kid. That night, I was Jimmy Stardust.
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October 24, 2017 •A7
The Israel Itinerar y: The Akko exper ience By Kirstyn Brendlen STAFF WRITER
Akko is just visible from Mount Carmel – a little outcropping of white buildings an hour up the coast on Haifa Bay, double walled to protect from invasion after it was taken by the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans. The city is beautiful: cream buildings with blue doors, strings of laundry hanging between windows and clear blue water. It’s also, as many Israeli cities are, covered with trash. Our tour guide, Izzy, (a New Jersey native, of course) said he thinks it’s a fundamental difference between Americans and Middle Easterners – Americans try to keep public spaces as clean as possible, and the mess in their own homes is their own problem, he said. Middle Easterners keep their homes spotless, but don’t look after public spaces. I don’t know if he’s right, but the homes we pass are spotless – doors open into shining floors, clutter-less rooms. While we were stopped in the street, a woman in a purple headscarf opened her front door and shouted a warning while she dumped a bucket of soapy water into the center of the street.
The streets were scattered with green and blue signs written in Arabic. As we passed, our professor read them out to us: “Remember God” and “I cherish my religion and my Islam.” Izzy said the signs were changed during the Second Intifada to say incendiary things against the Israelis – an attempt to anger the mostly-Arab population of the Old City. Now, they’re reminders of faith. Acknowledging and thanking God is critically important in Islam – even when someone asks “How are you?” your response, good or bad, should always be accompanied by “Alhamdulillah” (“Thanks be to Allah”). The al-Jazzar mosque is the oldest in Akko, a green dome sitting on top of the city. There were a few men scattered on the steep steps up to the mosque, chatting and nodding as we passed by. Just inside is a rack of scarves for women to borrow if they don’t have them – half are in muted blues, the others, in contrast to the creams and blues of the complex, are black with racecar-style flames along the hem. A friend opened her tote bag, “This is my mosque kit,” she said, pulling out a long skirt and
Kirstyn Brendlen / Hofstra Chronicle Scarves hang for women to wear in the mosque.
scarf. We filed into the front of the mosque, empty but for a janitor praying at the front of the room. Many mosques have a relic of Mohammed. This one has a strand of his beard in a case on the second floor balcony, where the women pray. “I’ve never been up there,” Izzy said. “I’ve never seen it. I guess the men don’t get to see it.”
Kirstyn Brendlen / Hofstra Chronicle Translation: “I am proud of my religion and my Islam.”
There’s a shelf next to the door that has rows of pamphlets – “What is Islam?” and “Who Is Mohammed?” in English, German, Chinese – tiny introductions for tourists. I took a blue and gold patterned Quran, clearly written for those outside the faith, as the introduction breaks down how the Quran was revealed and ordered, and instructs the reader to “read the Quran in slow, measured rhythmic tones.” Izzy took us through the city and out toward the edges looking over the bay. A group of young boys jumped into the ocean from the top of the city walls, keeping their shoes on for the climb back up rough steps carved into the stone. We had been waiting for a covered market to open, and when it did it was packed and hot, lined with people selling everything: sheets, towels, food, spices and, like in Nazareth, an assortment of souvenirs – dream catchers, the same little toys you find rolling around in a display outside of a mall toy store. This time when we passed a stand selling fresh pomegranate juice, I caved. It was nearly 100 degrees out and even the professor said we should get some; it was the beginning of pomegran-
ate season in Israel. The man put them into a little vice and spun the handle to squeeze the juice out. He poured it into a plastic cup with a little domed lid. While he was telling us to be careful not to spill, I tipped the cup, knocked off the lid and spilled pink onto my white T-shirt. It’s still there, two months later. When Izzy finally freed us for lunch, we followed our Madrich, Moshe, to what was said to be the best falafel in Akko. The restaurant was small – a row of chairs against a mirrored wall and five men working at breakneck speed, using a box cutter to slice open pita, passing it down to be filled. Moshe ordered for us in Hebrew after we spent a few minutes fumbling awkwardly – five falafels, mine and Moshe’s with everything on it: hummus, pickled radishes, cabbage. We stopped for kanafeh, a favorite of our little group, a traditional Arab dessert featuring a layer of sweet goat cheese with thin, almost pasta like pastry on top. The boy working in the shop was young and bored, ignoring us to talk to a friend who walked in behind us while he cut big squares into white boxes for us to take back to the minibus.
A8 • October 24, 2017
@Hofstra
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Man on the Unispan How protected do you feel your private information is?
B y D a n i e l N guyen STA F F WR I T E R
“Not at all. I don’t think my stuff is safe because I think if anyone really wanted it, or if a corporation wanted it they could get it by any means.”
“Not safe at all. If you’re going to be using the internet, then you’re going to make yourself susceptible to hacks.” - Austin Nguyen, freshman
- Chris Bounds, junior
“I feel safe because I feel like the university is doing what it has to do in order to protect our information.” - Michael Drame, senior
Peter Soucy / Hofstra Chronicle
Daniel Nguyen / Hofstra Chronicle
#MeToo: ‘We shouldn’t have to make Facebook posts’ By Rachel Bowman ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR
After celebrities started to share their experiences with sexual assault and harassment online, social media became flooded with women and men alike sharing their stories using the hashtag “MeToo,” displaying the magnitude of this epidemic. The Me Too campaign started almost 10 years ago as a grassroots organization founded by activist Tarana Burke and has found prevalence in social media this past week. In response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet,” and Twitter became flooded with people sharing their stories. “I believe that a rapist has the mind of a rapist no matter
what they’re taught, and the only thing we do have control over is making bystanders aware so that they can step in if they see something,” said Simma Lamb, a survivor and sophomore public relations major. “I personally think it’s extremely unfortunate that something has to happen in Hollywood for this to even be a thing.” RAINN, a national anti-sexual violence organization, reports that among both graduate and undergraduate students, 11.2 percent of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force. The spring 2017 Hofstra University Campus Climate survey showed that “students reported a low prevalence of sexual assault and relationship violence at Hofstra.” “It is important to raise awareness for all incidents from ha-
rassment to assault,” said Hofstra Title IX officer, Allison Vernace. “Services for students on-campus include Public Safety, the Title IX Officer for Student Issues, the Title IX Officer for Employee Matters, Student Advocacy and Prevention Awareness, the Student Health and Counseling Center and the Interfaith Center. The Safe Center LI [an off-campus non-profit] also provides on-campus counseling sessions for students at no cost and is working on developing a survivor support group.” Hofstra University is required to abide by the New York state law “Enough is Enough,” which requires colleges to adhere to a set of comprehensive procedures and guidelines to protect students from assault. “I think there are good outlets here [at Hofstra]; the Saltzman
Center, the Title IX office and even some teachers are good to talk to,” said Izzy Gonzalez, a survivor and sophomore psychology major. “We shouldn’t have to make Facebook posts for people to know how big of a problem it is.” Both Lamb and Gonzalez agreed that the Me Too campaign is not going to bring about the change they wish to see in help towards harassment and assault. “It is showing the magnitude of the problem but it’s not showing the effect of the problem to each personal experience,” Gonzalez said. “It’s one thing for everybody to know it happens a lot, but if people don’t know the effects that it has on people then what’s it really doing?” “I actually really don’t like the campaign because it’s clumping assault and harassment to-
gether,” Lamb said. “I’m a strong believer in the fact that if you speak up, more people around you will. I know especially with me, it’s nice to know that you’re not alone in your experiences, so because of that, I think [the campaign is] great.” However, both survivors had ideas about what can help make a difference. “I think [Hofstra] could help advertise a lot, like posters in the hallway to let people know they’re not alone. The little things matter more than the big lectures,” Gonzalez said. “I think that it’s important to have some sort of campaign that speaks up about men also being victims of assault,” Lamb said. “As much as assault is becoming less and less stigmatized, the fact that there are male victims is still taboo.”
The Chronicle
@Hofstra
October 24, 2017 •A9
The Humans of Hofstra
By Marissa Matozzo STAFF W R I T E R
“People are complicated. Everyone is different, but I believe there is a basic area of humanity we could all meet at if we truly wanted to. We need to keep trying. I’m passionate about being healthy, happy and understanding how people work so we can all work together better. In high school I took AP psych. In it I learned that psychology is structured in a scientific way. This is where my interest in religion came in and how it is a psychological phenomenon. We study it secularly here and not directly from the Bible. We study how economics and many other factors all play a role in religion. I think it is good to understand how people use their circumstances and beliefs in their everyday lives and how that affects society as a whole.”
Jacinda Wadhwani “It’s always assumed you won’t find a job after you graduate. Many don’t recognize the true importance of the arts. It’s not just for the money. It’s about doing what we love and to keep doing it for the rest of our lives. More people need to support us so that we can inspire others. We have an excellent drama program here that not many people hear about. By getting word out about our program, others can see the passion we all have. I love musical theater and dramatic theater. I’d love to do these after I graduate Hofstra. I love to perform in a sense that I can encourage kids who want to pursue this career that they can make it. I want them to see me onstage and to know that they can. Kids need to know that pursuing the arts is worth it. Pursuing the arts can change lives.”
Tatiana Montes
“My father inspired me the most in life. I dedicated my first book to him. I am who I am because of him. He taught me to never wallow over problems I was dealing with and to take action by writing about them instead. I want to be strong, to be there for other people. Ultimately, to be an example for others as someone who overcame difficulties through my writing would be ideal. My life was changed through reading and writing. I honestly believe if our generation was honest and cared more about everyone around us, the whole world would change. If we started putting value into friendships more than just what they can do for us we wouldn’t feel so lonely all the time. All people have something that links them together, something they can talk about to connect to each other.”
Nina Arnone Gabbie Downs / Hofstra Chronicle
Jesse Saunders/ Hofstra Chronicle
High Hopes Open Mics Coming soon... A Hofstra Chronicle mini-doc on these off-campus open mics
Spread by Jesse Saunders and Peter Soucy / Photos by Mike Chicchetti
Arts and Entertainment Pride Network’s drag show celebrates LGBTQ+ culture B2
VOL 83 ISSUE 6 Gisela Factora / Hofstra Chronicle
A&E
B2•October 24, 2017
The Chroncle
Pride Network’s drag show celebrates LGBTQ+ culture By the end of the night, a grand total of $4,500 was raised. Half was donated to the Transgender Resource Center of Long Island while the other half went toward the Pride Gisela Factora / Hofstra Chronicle Network’s funding so they can continue This year marks the 10th anniversary of Hofstra’s Pride Network Drag Show. to organize events such as this one. By Jessica Zagacki None of this would have STAFF W R I T E R been made possible without Rainbows, glitter, wigs, the tireless efforts, care and makeup, stilettos, smiles and meticulous planning by the a radiant energy filled Monroe Pride Network’s hardworking Lecture Hall on Thursday, Oct. executive board. They are 12, as the Pride Network hosted the ones who negotiated and its 10th Annual Drag Show, solidified contracts, tabled to “HallowQueen.” sell tickets and worked carefully This year’s drag show was to make people’s dreams another benefit show. Half of become a reality. all proceeds went toward the By hosting this event, the Transgender Resource Center Pride Network ensured people of Long Island. Throughout the with a safe, positive and show, collection baskets were inclusive space full of warmth, being circulated to gather even love and talent. Show volunteers more donations toward this were also much appreciated in organization. helping the show run smoothly.
Among these volunteers were people who helped set up at the beginning and clean up at the end of the show, ushers and queen assistants as well as everyone on the crew in charge of lighting, music and other assignments. As per usual, the show sold out and was packed with a plethora of extremely talented performers. This year, the show’s headliner was Aja from season nine of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” with returning host and performer Anita Waistline and special guest Coma White. Besides performances from these incredible queens, there were also several student performers. Among these were student queens, kings and student groups Sigma’cappella, transcenDANCE, Hofstra Ballroom Dance, IMANI Dance Ensemble and Strictly Steppin’. Serena Payne, a sophomore psychology major with a minor in LGBT studies, was a student performer in this year’s drag show. She went by
the stage name “The Unholy Trinity” and performed twice throughout the show. One was an individual performance to an original remix she titled “Power Hungry” and another was a lip sync battle to “Buttons” by The Pussycat Dolls. The drag show had special meaning to Payne. “To me, the drag show means a night without anxiety over any personal or world issues, just an escape into a night of pure gay fun,” she said. The drag show serves as a judgement-free safe space for those in the LGBTQ+ community, performers and audience members alike. It also serves as a place for allies of the LGBTQ+ community to experience and enjoy the community’s culture. For many, performing in the drag show is a really special opportunity. “To perform in this year’s drag show was everything to me. I love performing but never fully had the creative control that I did when working on my set. I was at my
happiest,” Payne said. “The best part of being a performer was probably getting to be with everyone backstage,” Payne said. “It was a unique perspective on the show that the audience didn’t get to see. Chatting with Aja between acts was amazing. “Being up on stage was like a never-ending adrenaline rush. Every time the crowd cheered or someone tipped me it was like a new wave of energy, even though I was absolutely exhausted,” Payne said. Next year’s drag show may be a while away, but people such as Payne are already planning for it. When asked if she would like to perform again Payne said, “Are you kidding? Not only would I love to perform again in Hofstra’s drag show, I’ve already started practicing my set for next year.”
Cover: 10th Annual Drag Show
Swing back in time with ‘Cuphead’ Photo courtesy of StudioMDHR Cuphead is available now on Xbox One and on Steam.
By Robert Dolen ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
A modern product of a time long gone, “Cuphead” is a joyously frustrating experience that somehow manages to test the peak of the player’s platforming skills in the cutest way possible. “Cuphead” is an independent video game published by StudioMDHR Entertainment that encapsulates an art style reminiscent of and inspired by old 1930s cartoons, something never done before at such a professional scale. Players take on the role of the brothers Cuphead and Mugman as they strike out in the Devil’s Casino and are forced to enter in a contract with the ultimate price:
their souls. The Devil sends the two protagonists on a journey across the world collecting the Devil’s outstanding bounties with the toughest enemies. The most iconic aspect of “Cuphead” is its art direction and atmosphere, and it’s executed perfectly. The art team at StudioMDHR hand-drew every single character, animation and background for “Cuphead,” an astonishing feat rarely seen or heard of in modern video games. If you’ve ever seen old footage of classic cartoons from early television broadcasts, “Cuphead” both looks and feels exactly like them. The main characters, the supporting characters, the enemies, the bosses; every character is stylized with their own personality and it shows through in their appearance. Each level features truly beautiful watercolor backgrounds. Animated background characters contribute to a sortof cartoon realism. In tandem with the old-style sound effects
and swing music ensemble that composes the game’s original soundtrack and sound design, “Cuphead” manages to fully immerse itself in the time period it draws inspiration from. What’s perhaps most impressive about this art style is its ability to balance multiple layers of animation and objects on screen without it becoming unplayable. It’s a testament to the mechanical and artistic development of the game to simultaneously project layers upon layers of objects on screen that produce a challenging but not impossible experience. The vibrant colors and the flashy animations evoke a wild world full of wonder and unpredictability. The cornerstone of gameplay in “Cuphead” is its unpredictability both in the traversal levels as well as the boss rushes. The artificial intelligence in “Cuphead” introduces very complicated randomization in enemy behavior that makes every moment of gameplay a
mysterious challenge. Many bosses rely on creating hectic battle situations with multiple different projectiles and damage dealing area-of-effect attacks, meaning that some attack patterns back to back can be extreme. The player needs to flex their twitch-reflexes as hard as possible to be successful in this game. Although it’s impossible to tell without extensive research, there were some instances where it did feel like certain attack patterns made avoiding danger impossible. For the most part, the systems in place for boss battles in “Cuphead” encourage frustration in tandem with implementing insane difficulty. “Cuphead” is viciously unwavering in its dedication to emphasizing difficulty. The player has only three hit points (four if you unlock the special ability) for an entire level, with no opportunities to regain health until the level is finished. There are no checkpoints throughout any levels or boss fights, so if
you lose, you have to restart from the beginning. This uncompromising mission of perfection forces players to calculate every option in every situation from the get go, making the initial skill gap a bit high. Luckily the controls aren’t super complex, and the player never has to micromanage ammunition aside from their special attack gauge. “Cuphead” scatters coins across stages and boss fights that you can find and use at the store to buy special attacks, abilities and statistic attributions to help give you the competitive edge. There’s not a whole lot of balance in these skills; there are very clear abilities that are much better than others. Overall, “Cuphead” is a truly unique visual experience that in appearance looks very cute and fun, but under that soft imaginative exterior is an arduously entertaining test of skill for the player that encourages true optimization of reflexes and coordination.
October 24, 2017•B3 A&E Manson’s furious return in ‘Heaven Upside Down’
The Chronicle
industrial metal. The album kicks off with the crushing “Revelation #12,” which explores the angrier side of Manson right off the bat. As a musician, it’s always interesting to analyze the production of sound – and the production here is absolutely fierce. The raw, distorted, lo-fi sound Courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings of the vocals transports the listener back to the times of Manson’s 10th album debuted eighth on the Billboard 200. “Antichrist Superstar” (1996) and “Holy Wood (In the Shadow By Andy Sahadeo of the Valley of Death)” (2000) E DITOR IA L E D I TO R with Manson’s signature angerYou can almost taste the fueled tirades. sexuality and maturity dripping Manson’s instrumentation was from the soundscapes cultivated never known for being overly in Marilyn Manson’s 10th studio technical, instead opting for album, “Heaven Upside Down.” the utilization of drop tunings, The titan of industrial metal fifth chords and electronic returned in full force after his drums. This is not a stab at the 2015 strong effort in “The Pale instrumentation whatsoever – Emperor.” very few musicians can take You can tell that even at this such simple concepts and make stage in his career, Manson them work, especially in a genre continues to shatter sonic barriers like metal that forces musicians and flesh out his world-renowned to push the envelope in order to sound within the genre of diversify their sound.
The fact remains that although Manson’s band (a completely separate entity from Manson himself) is all under his vision, his bandmates still create crushing riffs and infectious grooves. Tyler Bates, the lead guitarist on this album and the Hollywood film composer for films such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “300,” as well as Gil Sharone, former drummer of mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, both deserve massive props for their musicianship on this album. The album’s first single “WE KNOW WHERE YOU FUCKING LIVE” is a brilliant example of where Manson, Bates and Sharone all jell together in perfect harmony. The long, drawn-out buildup, the note bending and the haunting yet subtle synth that pervade the scene throughout the verse all lead to a devastating chorus that sees Manson yelling the song title to the point of near death. It’s a typical Manson banger
that undoubtedly will have metalheads rejoicing in the sweet bliss of raging in the mosh pit on the Heaven Upside Down Tour (as soon as Manson recovers from his injury, of course). Elements of gothic rock and blues also are audible in tracks like “Blood Honey” and “Threats of Romance,” respectively – owing up to Manson’s willingness to bend and meld genres even this late in his career. It’s almost as if you took Manson, David Bowie and Stevie Ray Vaughn and threw all their sounds into a blender – it’s a pretty rewarding product in the end. However, with all this praise comes some amount of criticism for the album. For one, several songs on the album such as “Tattooed in Reverse,” “SAY10” and “Saturnalia” all have a tendency to sound the same after a good run-through of the album. It’s not to say that these songs are necessarily bad, but Manson’s sound can get a little repetitive
and muddy on the ears after some time. That usually tends to be the case in a pretty restrictive genre like industrial metal – and those songs definitely lean more on the industrial spectrum of sound given their heavy amounts of destructive synth. Overall, “Heaven Upside Down” is an incredible album that mixes the perfect amount of throwback into Manson’s classic albums while incorporating that fresh, genre-bending sound unforeseen in performers around Manson’s age. After experimenting with the elements of blues and gothic rock on “The Pale Emperor,” Manson unveiled a new side of himself that was never heard of before. “Heaven Upside Down” does a great job in continuing that fleshing-out process. If you’re a metalhead or just someone who’s interested in the soundscapes of what metal is capable of, I highly recommend checking out “Heaven Upside Down.”
Gary Janetti on how to succeed in showbiz
producer and showrunner. In more recent years, he created, produced and wrote the ITV/PBS series “Vicious.” This event took place as part of the Herbert InsidTaylor Clarke / Hofstra Chronicle ers program and Janetti’s shows have accumulated 107 Emmy was sponsored nominations and 23 wins over his career. by the School By Taylor Clarke of CommuniSTAFF W R I T E R cation as well as the Office for Development and Alumni Hofstra students gathered in Affairs. Attending students had Studio A of the Lawrence Herthe opportunity to converse with bert School of Communication Janetti and ask questions about on Monday, Oct. 9, to welcome the field of television production and converse with renowned and writing. alumnus, Gary Janetti. Janetti, “It’s great that we have such The Hofstra graduate is a fouran inspiring alumni network of time Emmy-nominated televipeople that are willing to come sion writer and producer. back and give us such amazing Janetti began his well-esadvice, like Gary did,” said Sean tablished career as part of the McNally, a sophomore video original writing staff of Fox’s television and film major. “Family Guy.” Janetti went Janetti offered a plethora of on to write for NBC’s “Will & tips and advice for students hopGrace,” moving up to executive ing to enter into the field of tele-
vision. During his time at Hofstra, Janetti did not know what he wanted to do. He described his love for television as beginning at a young age, explaining how he was always watching it. “I was actually educating myself,” Janetti said. Janetti took his great passion for television and developed it into a well acclaimed career. “It’s finding the thing that you’re passionate about, that is what I was passionate about – sitcoms,” he said. “You have to know what [your passion] is and be willing to do it.” Aspiring television writers and producers had the opportunity to ask Janetti about crucial elements of writing such as character creation and development, plot lines and production detail. “It starts with developing a show that has great characters from the pilot stage,” Janetti said. Amanda Lyles, a sophomore television production major said, “I realized from coming to this event that it’s important to follow your dreams, but to
make sure that that is actually what you want to do before you pursue it ... it has to be something you want to do every day of your life and you have to be able to struggle through it. And that is what’s going to get you to where you want to be.” Lyles recently changed majors from journalism to television production. She felt that this program helped her to gain a better sense of what she was studying. Throughout the course of the program, Janetti also provided fantastic insight on dealing with failure, rejection and the nerves often associated with the beginning a new job. He shared helpful advice, reminding students, “don’t be afraid of no.” When asked about his greatest lesson learned from failure, Janetti explained that at first he showed weakness, but then moved on to learn from mistakes. He said, “People make mistakes; I make a lot of mistakes. The trick is only making them once.” Janetti emphasized the need to find and develop your own voice
when writing. He feels that it is important to incorporate that. Janetti recalled trying to mimic the styles of the writers surrounding him during the start of his career. He later realized that he had his own unique experiences and opinions to contribute. “It’s an asset being yourself, whoever you are,” Janetti said. Students were able to learn the ins and outs of the television industry. Victoria Murphy, a sophomore television production studies major, felt motivated by Janetti’s personal experience. “It inspired me to not be disillusioned when looking for a writing position in the real world,” she said. His main piece of advice for hopeful writers and producers was: “Feed the thing that you want to feed, that helps you do the thing you want to do.” Janetti currently works at Warner Bros. Television, developing a live-action remake of the classic series, “The Jetsons.” The show is being refined for ABC and will be directed by Robert Zemeckis.
A&E
B4•October 24, 2017
The Chroncle
Jason Bateman goes full-Heisenberg in ‘Ozark’
Photo courtesy of Netflix The drama of a scheme gone wrong unfolds in Ozark’s first season, which premiered in July.
By Joseph Coffey-Slattery STAFF WRITER
It is difficult to ponder a world without Netflix or to conceive of a streaming service where the goal was not to bingewatch. Indeed, Netflix and other streaming companies like HBO and Hulu have made it challenging for the casual viewer to escape with just one episode. Playing the next entry has be-
come a compulsive behavior and an enticing one at that. This can largely be attributed to the fact that the content is produced with such high quality. Shows such as “Game of Thrones” and “Orange is the New Black” are engrossing because the acting, writing and production value are on a scale viewers had previously only associated with films. Such is the case with Netflix’s “Ozark,”
surely to become a modest hit in its own right. Despite landing on the service on July 21, 2017, many have probably not heard of the show or are only in the “my friend said they liked it” state of being. This is a notable shame, as in the clamor about old shows with which viewers have dedicated their loyalty, one often neglects to investigate the new gems that crop up on a seemingly daily
basis. “Ozark” is certainly a show that deserves to be seen, one with an intricate plot and characters that are startlingly tangible. The show follows Martin “Marty” Byrde (Jason Bateman), a financial planner based in Chicago who has been laundering money for “the second biggest drug cartel in Mexico,” a fact he mentions frequently to ruffle the feathers of his liaison with the criminal group, Camino Del Rio (Esai Morales). After discovering that Marty’s partner Bruce has been stealing money from the cartel, Marty has to move his family to the Mississippi Ozarks where he must launder $8 million in three months to satisfy the debt wrought by his associate. The penalty for not succeeding is that Del Rio and company will murder Marty’s family in a series of hideous ways. While initially feeling capable, Marty is soon overwhelmed by the rural nature of the area, and his schemes to utilize businesses for laundering become increasingly desperate. In the
midst of his trials, he must balance a dysfunctional family, a local heroin kingpin, backwoods criminals and the cartel’s watchful eye. Initially I was not sold on the premise and trailers, as the antics of drug cartels are already being explored to great success in shows such as Netflix’s “Narcos.” Yet what brought me to “Ozark” was the sheer curiosity of what a serious Bateman role would look like. Normally a comedic man, one will be surprised at the raw emotion that he brings to the role – and the director’s chair on several occasions. The show also benefits from an immensely flexible plot. For instance, a viewer walking into an episode of “The Walking Dead” has it under good authority that the main protagonist, Rick Grimes, will not meet his end. Yet “Ozark” is not afraid of unexpected deaths or being bound by the same code as other shows. This makes for an engrossing ride, one in which the audience feels consistently exposed, apprehensive and thoroughly entertained.
Break free and ride the ‘Rip Tide’ By Jenna Clark STAFF WRITER
“Rip Tide” envisions what life is like for someone who is thrown into the life of a famous full-time model. The film illustrates the emotional toll that the modeling industry and public scrutiny has on Cora (Debby Ryan) as she is forced to live out her mother’s dream. The movie begins with Cora, a distinguished supermodel, being severely scolded by a worker after offering input at a photo shoot. This, along with the constant nagging of her manager and mother, Sofia (Danielle Carter), causes her to have an emotional breakdown where she falls down a flight of stairs and is then defamed in the media. Cora decides that it is time to take a stand and do something on her own terms. For her, this means taking a trip to Australia to visit
her Aunt Margot (Genevieve Hegney), a professional surfer who is struggling with the tragic death of her husband, Caleb (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor). Upon her arrival to Australia, Cora meets Tom (Andrew Creer), an old childhood friend, who teaches her about the important things in life. Leaving her supermodel world behind, Cora pursues her passion for design by designing the outfits for the Tea Tree Beach event. Cora also finds an escape in the popular Australian pastime of surfing. When she receives a call from her mother demanding her to come home to confirm a lifechanging modeling contract, Cora is unable to bring herself to leave her new life and relationship with Tom. Toward the end of the film, Sofia flees New York after finally realizing everything that her daughter has been telling her.
Cora reveals that she has been accepted into college and decides to continue designing fashion. This film stands out from other family and romance films because of its difference from the norm. The inspirational message of taking a stand and being brave is not illustrated in the cliché ways of most films, but actually resonates with the viewer with the many climactic scenes in the movie, such as when Cora walks out on her mother and when she swims into the dangerous riptide. Viewers sympathize for the main character as she is an adolescent woman with a lot of power trying to guide herself towards the future of her choice. Although one is taken into the relationship between Cora and Tom, it does not oversaturate the film, but attractively complements it. Familial love is also illustrated when Cora swims into
a riptide to save her aunt who tries surfing after having stopped for over a year after the death of her husband. Filmed in Australia, the beautiful beaches and surrounding areas are ravishing. Upon first glance, one realizes that no green screen was used in the making. On-
location filming is becoming a rarity in modern filmmaking, so it is refreshing to see natural beauty without the special effects. Although this movie is not in theaters in America, “Rip Tide” is available for purchase on platforms such as iTunes and Amazon video.
Photo courtesy of Rip Tide Movie Former Disney star Debby Ryan takes the lead role of “Cora.”
Editorial
A12•October 24, 2017
The Chronicle
The The views and opinions expressed in the Editorial section are those of the authors of the articles. They are not an endorsement of the views of The Chronicle or its staff. The Chronicle does not discriminate based on the opinions of the authors.
Columns The Weekly Gab
Third wave feminism excludes women on the right
By Gabriella Ciuffetelli COLUMNIST
“There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.” These were the words uttered by former Secretary of State and feminist icon Madeleine Albright during the 2016 presidential election. Meant to drum up for support then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, this declaration sought to encompass the “all for one and one for all” mentality feminists have been trying to push for years. But what happens when we actually begin to peel back this feel-good feminist rhetoric? With celebrities, media personalities and millenials all racing to prove their devotion to womankind, surely we must have mastered the elusive art of intersectionality by now. Sadly, the truth is that most self-identifying feminists care more about proving how “woke” they are on social media than actually defending their fellow women. Just one look at the way Republicans are treated by their female peers proves that third wave feminism is rife with
By Melanie Haid C OLUMN I S T
In the past few weeks it has luckily been warmer than your typical October, however it doesn’t really excuse the fact that almost every week we’ve had the fire alarm go off in Estabrook – as well as some of the other residential buildings. Now, even as a freshman, I know that we have to have fire drills for our buildings, but it somehow seems that three times
hypocrisy. Among the core tenants of the modern feminist movement is the idea that strong, independent women are a force to be reckoned with, that any man who seeks to silence them is clearly doing so out of intimidation and must be met with public vitriol. So in peeling back this fallacy, let’s start with the superficial. Feminists were quick to come to Clinton’s defense when she was met with attacks regarding her outward appearance. From jokes about the tone of her voice, to her fashion sense, to her hairstyle, practically all criticism of Clinton was met with verbose, self-righteous think pieces. For months it seemed as though there were hundreds of women eagerly waiting for an excuse to come to the aid of their newest figurehead, and flaunt their girl power for the world to see. And yet, these women were suddenly nowhere to be found when people hurled the same insults at Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway or Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Perhaps even worse, there was not a single critique
from the radical feminist left when Clinton herself made fun of her opponent’s hair. I guess the reasoning here is either that only women can berate others for their appearances (because, after all, misandry totally doesn’t exist) or that, once again, Democrats get a free pass. And it doesn’t stop there. To borrow from the feminist dictionary, Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond “slut shamed” Conway when he made a joke about her being “familiar” on her knees. Yet he never felt the same white-hot rage conservative commentators are met with every day for making remarks that are much less obscene. Watching thousands of Twitter accounts suddenly go mum was certainly an alarming sight. And yet it confirmed the unfortunate reality that feminism only protects women when they are aligned with the political left. Feminists are ready and willing to ostracize their fellow women the moment they affiliate with the Republican Party or expresses support for conservative ideologies. Now, in addition to “slut
shaming,” feminism has also taken on a crusade against “mansplaining.” The latter made-up word is meant to serve as a concise way to identify the condescending behavior women are apparently subjected to by men who think they are more knowledgeable than their female counterparts – particularly in a professional setting. Microaggressions such as interrupting, co-opting ideas and eye-rolling are among some of the most common examples of mansplaining. And yet, when CNN anchor Anderson Cooper literally rolled his eyes at Conway on air, these “problematic” behaviors suddenly weren’t so offensive. Now I must add a caveat here – while the move was both incredibly condescending and extraordinarily unprofessional, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it sexist. However, the real issue isn’t whether or not it was sexist. Instead, the problem is that the same people who would have cried sexism had this happened to a Democrat failed to do so when it happened to a Republican.
in a month is a bit excessive. On the third night, I got a bit curious and asked the sherifflooking Public Safety officer what was going on and why we were having them all the time. At this point it was 2 a.m., and all he answered back was “smoke-heads.” I zombie-walked back up to the dorm and didn’t think about it much until the morning, but the next day it really hit me: people smoking in the dorms
almost made me late for class at 8 a.m. and have continuously jolted me out of much-needed sleep with the shrill sound of the fire alarm. Not only is it cold outside at these dark hours of the night, but it’s conveniently also when the sprinkler systems turn on – but who wouldn’t love being soaking wet, cranky and sleepdeprived, right? The worst part is that it’s not just Estabrook either. Stuyves-
ant and Constitution have been having a frequent fire drill problem as well. Stop cutting a half-hour to an hour out of your entire building’s sleep just because you want to get high in the comfort of your own room. Break all the rules you want, just leave the rest of us out of it. I’m fully aware that there’s no way around it, people are always going to smoke whether there are rules against it or not, but can you at least do it in a
A Fresh Look Only you can prevent fire alarms
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In fact, one need not imagine the backlash a conservative media personality would face for doing something similar to a liberal female guest because there are plenty of examples of such misplaced outrage already. But once again, we see radio silence the moment the script is flipped. I mean, where were all the feminists when former “The Blaze” host Tomi Lahren lost her job for what appeared to be her pro-choice ideology? Oh, they were too busy mocking Lahren and celebrating the decision – she’s still a Republican after all. So much for women supporting women! It is increasingly clear that feminists only take issue with other women being silenced or ridiculed if it interferes with their ability to spread a liberal political agenda. For a group of people who speak so highly of unity and collective action, feminists still have a long way to go before anyone on the right believes their “movement” is anything other than a free platform for Democrats.
way that doesn’t set off the smoke alarms at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday? Listen, I get it, it’s fun and it’s a great way to ease your stress but do us all a favor: take it outside, hotbox your car, open a window. I don’t even care if you’re discreet about it, just please for the love of everything good in this world: let me sleep.
op-ed
The Chronicle
October 24, 2017•A13
Let’s Talk
Dear White Feminists: By Ja’Loni Owens C OLU M N I S T
Nothing you do at this point surprises me in the slightest, yet I often times find myself disappointed and enraged by just how apathetic and oblivious you are to literally everything. When I say “literally everything,” I really do mean literally everything. Let’s take the #MeToo campaign for example. Are you all really going to pretend your organizing power did that? I would ask that you Google Tarana Burke, but the majority of you already know who she is. Burke founded the “Me Too” movement in 2006, more than 10 years ago, to uplift girls and women of color who experienced sexual assault and to provide them with the level of
support she, as a sexual assault survivor, knows that they need. Unsurprisingly, I haven’t seen Burke credited once. I also did not see her name attached to actress Alyssa Milano’s call to action via Twitter. I do, however, see Burke doing all that she can to make sure white feminists do not co-opt yet another movement birthed from black women, with hundreds of black women standing by her because what’s being done to Burke has been done to us as well. And then, you have the nerve to say: “We’re all women fighting for the same thing. Where the credit goes doesn’t matter.” Doesn’t matter? Really? Have you ever worked on a group project? There’s always that one kid who doesn’t pull their weight. There’s always
that one kid who you try your hardest to delegate the smallest tasks to because you know that they likely will do a mediocre job, you know, assuming they do the task at all. Then when grading comes around, they get an A+ just like you do when all they did was send “OK” and “sounds good” to the GroupMe for your project a few times. Everyone in the group, and maybe even the professor, knows that kid has a poor work ethic and didn’t deserve an A+. That kid is you. White feminists are the kids who don’t pull their weight in group projects, but still get an A+. So whenever I hear a white feminist suggest that black women are divisive for demanding our names be attached to our work and for refusing to let you all just parade our con-
cepts around without clarifying that they do not belong to you, I laugh and I tell them, “That’s cute.” It’s cute that you’re running around with your big hoops, your thick, drawn-on brows and your cornrows – or as you know them, Kim Kardashian braids – yelling “Cash Me Ousside,” as if you don’t call black women monkeys and clowns for having the same features you try to emulate or call us ghetto or hoodrats for wearing the same things you pay hundreds for. It’s cute that you bat your eyelashes at me and tell me that you’re not one of the over 50 percent of white women who voted for Donald Trump and recite the definition of intersectionality to me, yet when I ask you about the feminist scholar
who birthed that concept you can’t even tell me her name. It’s cute that you really think if you say something blatantly false and clearly outrageous enough that it becomes true, simply because you as a white woman are afforded the space to say it. It’s cute that you think your attempts to erase black women from feminist history and to spread the lie that the movement for liberation is where it is today because of women like you, will change reality. It won’t. Regardless of how many times you declare your socalled feminism to be the epitome of female empowerment and to be revolutionary, it will always be white supremacy lite.
#MeToo: How to address sexual assault
By Delilah Gray STAFF W R I T E R
Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted and therefore every 98 seconds a life is changed. Ever since the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the media has finally been bringing light to the extent of sexual assault he committed. As of Oct. 21, over 50 strong women have come out about the abuse Weinstein put upon them. These incidents ignited the hashtag movement #metoo that has sparked women all over the world to come out about their experiences. While this is a step in the right direction, it’s not enough to invoke real change.
It’s not just Hollywood. As a society, I don’t believe we take this sexual harrassment as a priority. The truth is in the numbers and the numbers show countless women have been victims of sexual assault. This isn’t the first Hollywood mogul to do this and he sadly won’t be the last. But Weinstein has ignited a fire in the pit of feminists. The numbers have been stacking and now it’s come out that he’s harassed or assaulted at least 50 women in the industry. The only just thing in this situation is that, unlike so many men in Hollywood, he’s paying for his consequences: his wife leaving him, getting kicked out of the industry and
facing lawsuits left and right. According to Huffington Post, 99 percent of perpetrators of sexual violence will walk free. Where’s the justice in that? With Twitter on the crusade for the good fight, actress Alyssa Milano started the #metoo movement with a tweet asking women to respond with “Me Too” if they were sexually assaulted or harassed. According to ABC News, “over 1.4 million and counting tweets included the hashtag, along with more than 13 million posts, comments and reactions on Facebook.” Within the statistics and tweets we see, there’s finally faces behind it and hopefully, that’ll start to make the situation
more real for people. If this doesn’t prove how critical the growing numbers of sexual assault are, then nothing will. I believe in a four step process with ridding sexual assault. Step one with any problem in the world is awareness. We need to start teaching everyone what classifies as rape, the statistics and the effects of what happens to women mentally, emotionally and physically. All education teaches us is how to say no, but they never teach it in real world settings. Step two is to further educate men and women on the importance of consent and self-defense. Step three is ending the
stigma and providing support – it is never the victim’s fault; it’s time to put that myth to bed. Finally, step four is to discuss actual punishments for the assailants. They’re criminals, plain and simple. According to RAINN, 17,700,000 women have been victims of rape since 1998. This movement is not about the assailants, it’s about the victims. One out of six women will be sexually assaulted in their life. You don’t really think about it until it’s you, or someone you know. The truth is in the numbers, and the truth for me is that I am part of the one. Me too.
Poll of the Week:
Who of Trump’s administration will resign next? 18%
Jeff Sessions
54%
Rex Tillerson
(39 Responses)
13%
John Kelly
15%
Steve Munchin
Editorial
A14•October 24, 2017
By Alissa Anderson
The Chronicle
We didn’t start the fire, climate change did
SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R O NI CL E
“Everything is on fire,” said Suvini Gunaratna, a junior design major at California State Long Beach. When asked for further comment, she simply replied, “everything.” I grew up in dry, hot, sunny Southern California. I’ve experienced many an autumn there, so I can tell you how it often goes. In July and August, it gets very hot. This continues through September and October.
We don’t get much rain during these months. More often than not, we get one surprise shower when no one’s expecting it, and that’s all until December. Since it’s so dry and hot, any plant that doesn’t have a sprinkler going right through the middle of it will die. Then, someone goes hiking, flicks a cigarette and next thing you know, the whole trail is ablaze. If you weren’t from the area, you’d probably never hear anything about it, and that’s what
makes this year so different. The California fires have made national news as they ravaged Sonoma County, Butte County and Los Angeles County, among other smaller areas throughout the state. It’s a tragedy, an outrage, a disaster. Call it what you want. I know how awful it is. I’m just glad that everyone is paying attention, because this isn’t how it should be, or how it has to be. This is a climate change issue. The fires get worse by the year. This is the first time they’ve made
national news, but each year has been a steady build up to where we are now. It most certainly doesn’t help that we now have a president in office who doesn’t believe in climate change and has demonstrated a total lack of regard for any and all environmental sanctions. Between the fires, the hurricanes, the rising temperatures around the globe and the devastating earthquakes, it’s clearly been a rough few months, but none of this is new.
I’m glad you’re paying attention. I’m glad you see that there’s a problem. Unfortunately, that’s not enough. This is a situation that requires an urgent and active response. Please, call your senators, vote in local elections, donate to organizations providing relief to affected areas and don’t forget these events once they’re behind us. If a massive change is not made, these disasters will become worse and even more frequent, and then we’ll (literally) be in hot water.
Latinx students find isolation awaits them in college
By Sharon Cuellar
SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R O NI CL E
My ultimate goal when I was a 14-year-old in high school was to go to college. It always felt like a dream – an achievable dream. As long as I can remember, my parents always urged me to get a higher education, and so it was, it was my dream. I became part of the Pride in the fall of 2015 and I was more than eager to become a college student. I was the first one in my family to go to college. The first day of my freshman year was quite overwhelming. I vividly remember my parents holding back tears as I got on the train towards Mineola saying, “You did it, mija,” as I felt a tear go down my face. I set foot on a college campus and I had never become so afraid.
By Angelica Beneke STAFF W R I T E R
The criminalization of those with mental illness continues, even in 2017. Earlier this month, well-established news outlets such as ABC News and Fox News published several articles about the Las Vegas shooter. Allegedly, Stephen Paddock’s motive for the Las Vegas shooting stemmed from an undiagnosed mental illness according to sources who, oddly enough, were not named. These claims have since been debunked. The sudden rise in mental illness discussion and labeling Paddock as representing a societal threat is, unfortunately, nothing new. With every mass shooting comes the speculation the perpe-
I was in an unknown place. It did not feel like home. I did not really know anyone and I was on my own for the first time in 17 years. As the semester went on and I made friends, I suddenly realized that I felt alone – alone in the sense that I did not have anyone to lean on. For non-Latinx students, the college experience might be exciting and liberating, but mine was quite unfamiliar. Trying to balance schoolwork with my job and my family became so overwhelming because in Latinx communities, family takes precedence over anything. I worked 20-40 hours per week back home and was also a fulltime student with a class every morning at 9 a.m. I was unable to join clubs or hang out with friends because most of the time I was studying
or had to be home. Yet when I was at home, it felt strange. I felt detached from my roots and my purpose, which made me feel alone, even in the place that used to feel the safest. It was not until I spoke to a close friend of mine, who was also Latino, that I realized I was not alone. College is hard, but it is even harder for us. We did not feel that we were home enough but we also felt that we were not at school as much as we should be, which was conflicting. Being at a predominantly white institution made us both feel that faculty and friends did not comprehend how exhausting it was to maintain this balance of family and school, which held our potential back. When I thought I could not feel anymore isolated, the Trump administration and its discrimina-
tory message came into power. I was scared and angry. I know everyone was, but for me, it was different. I was scared for the future of my parents and my brother. I was hurting for people back home – Dreamers and friends from undocumented families. At one point, I became so angry at the nation for being so old-fashioned and racist that I became unattached from my own situation because I could not believe what was going on. I was afraid to step out and be … me. Being Mexican is part of my identity; it makes me who I am. I was not able to comfortably go out into the world without other people accepting me, which made me insecure. When I saw Hofstra’s “You Are Welcome Here” campaign, that made me feel safe. I was so reluctant to the environment I
was surrounded with that I never perceived how open and welcoming Hofstra was. Hofstra is not as diverse as I want it to be. Despite this, it is very satisfying to know that I have coworkers, friends and faculty that believe that my people are just as equal as they are. Seeing other students from all types of different backgrounds advocate for minorities makes me hopeful. I am fortunate enough to say that I have not personally experienced marginalization at Hofstra, but I know other people’s experiences at other colleges have been different. Hofstra has given me the privilege to feel safe and get a valuable education. As a Latina with that opportunity, it is now my responsibility to advocate for those Latinx students who have not been so lucky.
trator suffered from mental illness. With that speculation come demands for reforming the mental health care system because there needs to be a reduction of events like these. With those demands come calls for screenings of interested gun buyers for possible mental illness. This accusation does an enormous disservice to those who do have a mental illness, professionally diagnosed or not. It’s also incredibly dangerous. The notion the mentally ill might commit mass murder contradicts studies saying they generally commit very little violence. And even if the mental health care system was to somehow be reformed in this country, there is no guarantee the number of mass shootings will decrease. In
other words, mass shooters don’t happen solely because of terrible mental health care. Yet, even with these findings, why is it that when a mass shooting does occur, the first thing politicians, such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who do absolutely nothing for mental health in the first place, say is we need better mental health care? Many folks belonging to organizations such as Behavioral Scientist and ThinkProgress believe this fixation on mental health after a mass shooting is a purposeful distraction from issues such as gun violence. While this is most likely true, especially since many politicians have prioritization issues, I think it’s also because we as a society still treat people with mental illness like criminals.
We might not lock them up by the thousands in cramped asylums as in the early 1900s – but, think about it: There are lists upon lists that cite states such as Texas and Minnesota for exceptional physical health care every year. Search “world famous mental health centers” in Google, however, and the first two results are “Best Hospitals for Psychiatry” and “The 10 Craziest Mental Asylums in America.” Why is the latter so prominent in this Google search if we weren’t still criminalizing or even dehumanizing people with mental illness? We view our fellow citizens as if they were exhibits in museums or zoos. They can be close enough so we can see them, but they better keep their distance. Oh, we better not tick off someone with
mental illness or they might shoot up the place later. We treat people with mental illness as if they aren’t capable of being human. And every time we judge a mass shooter as one suffering from mental illness, even when there has been no known history, we continue this cycle of judgement on our citizens who truly struggle with mental illness day in and day out, over and over and over again. Heck, we treat our own pets and other animals better than we treat people with mental illness. People struggling with mental illness are not ticking time bombs. They’re not violent criminals beyond hope. They’re human just like you and me. Period.
Mental illness is not a crime
SPORTS
The Chronicle
October 24, 2017•A15
Hicksville product shining in first year
By Mark Mausner STAFF W R I T E R
Storm Strongin, a freshman midfielder on the Hofstra men’s soccer team and a Hicksville, New York native, didn’t have to travel far to find the right fit for his collegiate soccer career. A quick drive spanning the Meadowbrook and Northern State Parkways is all that separates Strongin, currently living on Hofstra’s campus, from his hometown and the place where he found immense success, Hicksville High School. “It was a lot of fun. It was cool because your family comes and kids you go to school with come to the games,” Strongin said. “As the years went on I think my favorite year was my junior year, that was when we won the county championship. The team was just great,” Stongin said. In addition to the county championship, Strongin, the first Hicksville player to ever be named Class AA Player of the Year, helped his high school team win three conference championships. Despite his high school suc-
cess, Strongin has had to work hard for playing time at the Division I level. “I’m coming in so young and we have a lot of talent this year so I’m just trying to fit in wherever I can,” Strongin said. “I’m flexible because I want to get on the field.” The 5-foot-11-inch midfielder didn’t always love the game as much as he does now, but his perseverance allowed his passion for the sport to grow. “I started playing pretty young, at about 5-years-old. I played intramural with Hicksville and didn’t like it at first but I stuck with it and really started to enjoy it,” Strongin said. “Also, I’ve made some friends that I know I’ll have for my whole life that I’ve met through soccer.” Some of those friends are now Strongin’s teammates; he recalls facing off against other local freshmen on the Hofstra men’s soccer team back in his high school years. “My senior year of high school I played three other local freshmen,” Strongin said. “I then went on to play with them so we actually played on
a team together for a year and a half. We were on a club team in Massapequa.” Strongin’s local background also helped with his exposure to Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall, which eventually led to Hofstra offering him a spot on the team. “During high school I played on a club team that actually played against Coach Nuttall,” Strongin said. “That was the first time I had contact with him. I scored two goals, one of them was a nice free kick so that was when he noticed me.” “Literally [on] the first day coaches could call me, Coach Nuttall called me. I took a tour, loved it, Hofstra gave me an offer and that was it,” Strongin said. Strongin, who is one of just two Pride freshmen to record a point this season, is currently dealing with an injury. Despite this, he aims not just to rehabilitate, but to build on his game as well. “I love having something to work towards and being able to have that drive and improving yourself every day,” Strongin
said. “I just want to make an impact ... We have a lot of young talent
so I think in the next few years we’ll accomplish a lot of good things.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics Strongin’s assist against James Madison marked his first career point.
Field hockey overwhelmed by No. 16 JMU
By Juliana Battaglia STAFF W R I T E R
Fina l
Hofstra
0
JMU
8
The Hofstra field hockey team suffered a major defeat on Sunday, Oct. 22 against No. 16 James Madison University (JMU), losing to the Dukes 8-0 to fall to 7-10 on the season and 1-3 in CAA play. JMU outshot the Pride 21-4, as senior Hannah
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Frankie O’Brien posted one of Hofstra’s two shots on goal Sunday.
Hall led her team with three goals. The Dukes jumped on their scoring opportunities early, as sophomore Lisa Lejeune scored the team’s first goal a little over one minute into the first half. Seniors Melanie Kusakavitch and Hall contributed two more goals for the remainder of the half, while the Pride couldn’t muster more than two shots on their end. Hall scored back-to-back goals in the contest, tallying the team’s third and final goal of the first half and their first goal of the second. She would be followed by sophomores Alicia Cooperman and Emilly Schutt, who scored her first goal of the season. Hall then tallied her third goal and fifth on the season, with Kusakavitch adding her second goal of the contest. Hofstra head coach Kathy
De Angelis had expressed her concerns in previous interviews with being ready on both the attack and defensive sides in order to match up against an opponent as formidable as James Madison. Her concerns may have been well-founded, as Hofstra was overwhelmed on both sides of the ball by the Dukes. Unable to even get a shot until after the Dukes had taken a 3-0 advantage, the Pride struggled to maintain any balance between finding scoring opportunities and keeping their opponent at bay. Hofstra’s defense was coming off a matchup with St. Francis University in which the Pride allowed 19 shots and gave up 14 penalty corners. On Sunday, Hofstra was able to keep the Dukes from racking up too many penalty corners, but the large shot disparity was too
much for the Pride to overcome. While De Angelis mentioned that there was much work needed before this game, it is clear that there’s still improvement needed now more than ever if Hofstra has any chance to secure a spot in the championship tournament. The Pride sits in fifth place after Sunday’s loss, one game behind Northeastern University for the fourth and final spot in the CAA Tournament field. Hofstra’s hopes to claim a berth in the CAA Tournament can remain alive if they can manage a victory next week, but it will be a daunting task for the Pride as they host the defending NCAA champion University of Delaware squad on Friday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m.
A16• October 24, 2017
The Chronicle
SPORTS
Sauve’s success paves smooth path for underclass By Chris Detwiler STAFF W R I T E R
On a field hockey team where almost half the roster is made up of true freshmen, junior Madison Sauve stands out as the main veteran on the team. She leads the team with nine goals, 22 points this season and four assists to go with it, which is good for second on the team. Her nine goals are a careerhigh in her third year on the team. Her previous career-best was five goals. Many people see goals scored as an individual statistic, but Sauve has a much different approach when thinking about her success. “I think it’s just the fact that everyone else is stepping up their game,” Sauve said. “Me being able to capitalize on my plays comes from my team, so them stepping up helps me step up.” Her ability to give credit to her teammates for her own success shows her selfless mindset, one that is priceless on the field. As a veteran on the team, her mindset is just as impactful to the young athletes as her onfield play. Sauve has embraced this role as a veteran and realizes how big of an impact she has on rebuilding this team.
“I just definitely need to focus a lot more,” Sauve said when asked about how her mindset has changed as a veteran. “I need to keep not only myself in mind, but them in mind to help them through their process of transitioning from high school to Division I because it is a big step.” Being a veteran on such a young team is no easy task. Freshmen look at experienced players like Sauve and learn by the way she acts and plays on the field. Being held under that spotlight holds a lot of responsibility for Sauve, including the task of helping the team play together. “Trying to get 11 freshmen to become a team with the 12 [upperclassmen] has been a little bit of a challenge, but it’s all part of the process and it’s really great,” she said.
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Sauve has been one of Hofstra’s most reliable upperclassmen presences this year in a lineup full of freshmen.
and how they have been performing thus far in the season.
game as far as freshman year goes, so they are able to propel us forward which is really
“Trying to get 11 freshmen to become a team with the 12 [upperclassmen] has been a little bit of a challenge, but it’s all part of the process .” Sauve has been very impressed with how hard the freshmen have been working
“They bring a lot of skill and a lot of speed,” Sauve said. “They’ve really stepped up their
great.” Freshmen Anne van den Boomen, Philine de Wolf and Frankie O’Brien have all had enormous impacts on the team and have grown tremendously as they adjust to Division I athletics. Sauve knows first-hand about the difficulties of adjusting from the high school level to the Division I level. “High school is just very different than Division I,” she said. “I don’t want to say it’s easier, but it’s a lot different because not everyone is at the Division I level.” Before coming to Hofstra, Sauve graduated from
Cumberland Valley High School (CVHS) in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, which is located about 20 miles southwest of Harrisburg. Sauve played field hockey all four years she was at CVHS and recorded 88 points in her high school career. When Sauve thought back on her time at CVHS, one moment in particular stood out to her. “My senior year we made it to states – the second round of states. It was the first time ever,” Sauve said. “[Unfortunately], we lost.” Her team made it to the Pennsylvania state tournament her junior year in high school as well, but they were knocked out in the first round. Her senior year postseason run marked the first state tournament win in program history. Sauve, a humble junior with a bright smile, has taken this young Hofstra field hockey team under her wing and propelled them forward. Thanks to Sauve’s leadership, this field hockey team has a bright future ahead of them.
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Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Sauve currently leads the Pride in goals with seven and in total points with 24 on the year.
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SPORTS
The Chronicle
October 24, 2017•A17
Volleyball rallies past UNCW to snap losing streak By Joe Fay SPORTS E D I TO R
Fina l
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The Hofstra volleyball team snapped its three-match losing streak on Sunday, Oct. 22 with a 3-2 comeback win over the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks. Trailing two sets to one, the Pride put together two hard-fought sets to take the victory. The comeback was fueled by career-highs from freshman Sanne Maring and sophomore Luisa Sydlik. Maring had 17 kills, crushing her previous career-high of eight while Sydlik tied her career-high in digs with 17 to go with 51
assists, her seventh doubledouble of the season. Senior Laura Masciullo led Hofstra to a 25-21 first set win with nine kills and finished with 14 in the match. The Pride had 20 total kills and a solid .359 hitting percentage in the opening set, despite six errors. A highly-contested second set followed, seeing UNCW come out on top 25-20 to tie up the match. The Seahawks carried that momentum into a nearly perfect third set in which they had a .368 hitting percentage while only committing one error. In contrast, the Pride had a dismal .128 hitting percentage and six errors, losing 25-17. Hofstra then bounced back, winning a back-and-forth fourth set 25-23 with a balanced effort to retie the match at two sets-apiece. Though the match was tied, the momentum had shifted for
good. The Pride opened the final set with a 7-2 run and were able to hold off a UNCW comeback effort to win 15-10. The Seahawks, who put up a .103 hitting percentage and five errors, seemed to run out of steam in the fifth set against the resurgent Hofstra squad. The Pride improves to 1410 (6-4 CAA) on the season while UNCW falls to 8-15 (2-9 CAA). Hofstra has now won three straight meetings with the Seahawks. Junior Michela Rucli tallied 14 kills and five blocks while freshman Ivania Ortiz had 16 digs and three aces for the Pride. Hofstra will get to savor this win for a few days before returning to action this Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. against the Phoenix of Elon University. Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Freshman Sanne Maring had a career-high 17 kills to lead the Pride.
HOFSTRA ATHLETIC CALENDAR HOME
T U E SD AY
W EDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATU R D AY
SU N D AY
AWAY
10/24
10/25
10/26
10/27
1 0 /2 8
1 0 /2 9
ME N’S S O CC E R
B INGHAM TON – 7 P. M .
W O ME N’S S O CC E R VOL L E YBALL
TOWS O N
D E L AWA R E
– 7 P. M .
– 1 P. M .
FIE L D H OCKE Y
DE L AWA R E
DREXEL
– 3 P. M .
– 1 2 P. M .
A18• October 24, 2017
The Chronicle
SPORTS
Women’s soccer sails to undefeated CAA season By PJ Potter SPO RTS ED ITO R
Final Hofstra
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Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Bella Richards earned her second CAA Rookie of the Week honor.
CoC
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Rachel Cardinal’s 90thminute goal over the College of Charleston Cougars on Sunday, Oct. 22 sailed the Hofstra women’s soccer team to a perfect 9-0 year in conference play. This marks the first time since 2010 that the Pride finished the regular season without a loss against a CAA opponent. Cardinal’s game-winning score also extended Hofstra’s win streak to 10 matches and the Pride’s unbeaten streak to 12, finishing the 2017 campaign 13-3-2 overall. The tally was her second of the year, assisted by Kristin Desmond. The Cougars made it a nailbiter in the final few minutes. Up 1-0 in the 84th minute, Hofstra let up the lead off of
Charleston’s Talia Colchico, who was set up from a corner kick. The Pride held that 1-0 lead for over 60 minutes in the match. Bella Richards smacked her third goal in the 24th minute after a ricochet from a corner kick. Monique Iannella collected her fourth assist on the play, finishing tied for the team-high with Jenn Buoncore. Hofstra outshot Charleston 9-8 overall and 8-6 on net. The Pride split the goalkeeping duties between Ashley Wilson and Jenna Borresen. Wilson started, allowing one goal while saving one shot. Borresen had a clean second half with four saves. Charleston’s Genevieve Henderson played all 90 minutes and stopped six shots. Richards led the way for Hofstra with two shots. Seven other members of the Pride posted one shot each. For the Cougars, Laura Ortega, Ana Lesmes and Colchico fired two shots apiece.
Charleston capped the 2017 season 3-5-1 in conference play and 8-8-1 overall, ending on a three-game losing streak. Looking back on the entire season, Desmond finished atop the CAA in goals scored with nine. She also concluded her senior year with 21 points, which sits tied for second place in the conference. Buoncore also cracked her way into the Top 10 in several categories. The junior forward ended with 12 points (tied for ninth), four goals (tied for 10th) and four assists (tied for seventh with Iannella). On the defensive end, Wilson capped her season with a .820 save percentage (fourth best), racking up 50 saves along the way. Earning a bye in the first round, No. 1 Hofstra returns to action in the semifinals of the CAA tournament on Nov. 3. The Pride faces the winner of the match between No. 4 James Madison University and No. 5 William & Mary.
Hofstra clinches CAA tourney berth in OT thriller
By Jordan Sawyer STAFF W R I T E R
Fina l (OT ) Hofstra
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UNCW
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The Hofstra men’s soccer team capped off Colonial Athletic Association conference play in dramatic fashion with a 2-1 overtime victory over the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Seahawks on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Hofstra soccer stadium. UNCW entered the game in second place with 12 points while Hofstra began in fifth with 10 points in the conference standings. The Pride leapfrogged the Seahawks with their win, marking a sixth consecutive CAA tournament appearance. Early Pride pressure hindered the Seahawks from creating any
offensive opportunities until the fifth minute of play. Both sides traded off possessions as physical play ensued midway through the first half, with the Pride’s Sean Nealis picking up a yellow card in the 25th minute. The foul was followed by a high-arching Seahawk shot sailing slightly over the goalpost. UNCW nearly broke the scoreless seal in the 41st minute on a shot from Joel Bylander, but Alex Ashton provided an excellent save, leaping to knock the ball away one-handed. Each team headed into their locker room after a scoreless first half with six shots, two on goal. The Seahawks took control offensively early on in the second half but the Pride back line allowed miniscule breathing room. Hofstra looked to get on the board in the 54th minute as a strike from Danny Elliott was saved and sent to the head
of Meshack Eshun Addy for another shot, but was blocked by a UNCW defender. In the 61st minute, UNCW broke the scoreless knot as Ashton saved a Julio Moncada strike which was rebounded by Phillip Goodrum and put into the back of the net. The deficit did not dissipate the Pride’s demeanor as the leg of senior Mani Walcott delivered an equalizer in the 80th minute. Walcott picked up his first goal of the season after rebounding a shot made by Luke Brown to make it 1-1 with 10 minutes to play. “I think it really gave us a good boost. Our tails were up and we were after them. We wanted to win the game not just tie it,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. After 90 minutes of play, the Pride headed into their seventh overtime of the season and fifth in conference play. The previous six overtime appearances all resulted in a draw. Brown gave the team its first
overtime win of the season after firing a seven-yard strike past the Seahawks goalkeeper off a cross from Jon Fraser. Hofstra concluded conference play with a lone loss for the second consecutive year, finishing with a 3-1-4 record. “We got three wins, four ties and a loss so I’m proud of that … I think it guarantees that we’re in the playoffs now,” Nut-
tall said. The Pride currently sits at second place in the conference standings and are guaranteed to finish within the top four. Hofstra will face off against in-state opponent Binghamton University in Vestal, New York, on Wednesday, Oct. 25 before finishing off the season against Brown University at home on Halloween night.
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Walcott scored his first goal of year to tie the game in 80th minute.
SPORTS
The Chronicle
October 24, 2017•A19
Ramsay finding his footing as scoring threat
By Alexandra Licata STAFF WR I T E R
New Zealand native Oscar Ramsay had a goal to play in the U.S. and attend college starting at the age of 15. Now a sophomore, the Hofstra men’s soccer midfielder has entered his second year with the Pride hoping to prove he can do more to help the team and so far, he has done just that. Ramsay scored his first career goal on Oct. 7 against the University of Delaware, which propelled the struggling Pride to a 1-0 win, the team’s first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) win of the season. Prior to that, the team was 0-0-4 in conference play. “My parents had come over from New Zealand so it was good to score in front of them. I know Dad was buzzing with it,” Ramsay said. “It was one of those ones where I just walked into the box and hoped that it would roll to me and it did. The boys said I shut my eyes and just swung at it, but I was very glad that it flew in.”
That moment, for both Ramsay and his parents, marked a highlight moment of his career thus far. “I said that I’d been saving up a goal for [my parents],” Ramsay said. “Especially since my dad was joking that if I didn’t score soon he would have to take me home.” The confidence Ramsay gained during that game stayed with him. He went on to score two more goals against Drexel University, which helped the Pride to a 3-1 CAA win. “You trust where you should be and stop overthinking it,” Ramsay said. “So I was making runs that I probably would’ve normally made, but I hadn’t had my confidence up … You’re just calm and you can stroke it into the back of the net without being too flustered about it.” When Ramsay was five-yearsold, he began playing at a local New Zealand soccer club called Western Springs. When he reached the age of 13, he moved on to play for a variety of clubs. He played for Central United and captained
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Ramsay earned CAA Player of the Week Honors after scoring three goals in two Hofstra victories.
the team to an Auckland Metro League championship, captained his Westlake Boys High School’s team during his senior year, was a member of the New Zealand U20 World Cup Qualifying extended squad and also attended the All Whites Training Camp in 2016. Due to a lack of an official pathway in New Zealand for soccer, Ramsay’s two options were to either play domestically or come to America and play in college. He ultimately chose to pursue a college degree and join Hofstra’s team in hopes of achieving something bigger. “You do well in college and there’s always others, like the USL [United Soccer League] and the MLS, there in the background to entice you,” Ramsay said. “But then at the end of the day, if you don’t end up going down that route where you’re not good enough or you don’t end up loving the game anymore, then you’ve still got a college degree to fall back on.” The transition from New Zealand to college soccer during Ramsay’s freshman year was not easy. Having come from an environment where he had more
time on the ball, able to pick passes and move with it, he has had to adapt to the quick pace of the collegiate level. As a result, he is trying to move the ball as quick as he can, which has helped him to play stronger this year. “College soccer gets a rep for being more athletic with more
able in the realm of collegiate soccer. Originally, Ramsay set a goal to start every game, but due to a few injuries, he was unable to do so. With three goals under his belt, he wants to contribute more as the Pride finishes out their season and looks ahead to potentially playing in a sixth consecutive CAA Tournament. “I think for me going forward, I want to stay fit for longer and that’s going to be important for me in the offseason – trying to get stronger and faster and be able to play for longer,” Ramsay said. “I would love to get a few more assists. Especially if I’m playing in that number 10 position, you want to be creating and assisting.”
“... my dad was joking that if I didn’t score soon he would have to take me home.”
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle Ramsay has shot to the top of the Hofstra stat sheet with three goals.
powerful players. The season’s so short that every game is like a cut final, so everything’s always on the line,” Ramsay said. “Whereas back home, and I know some of the English boys had the same, you had 30 or 40 game seasons. So you can have, not a game off, but maybe try a different formation and if it doesn’t work then it’s not going to have a massive impact on the season,” Ramsay said. “But here, if you take six games to get into the season, by then you could be struggling.” Although he currently leads the team in goals scored, Ramsay still has things he wants to improve on this season that go beyond feeling more comfort-
Back Cover: Luke Brown and Rachel Cardinal both came up with clutch, game-winning goals this weekend.
The Hofstra Chronicle
Sports
October 24, 2017
Two Clutch Rachel Cardinal completes women’s perfect conference season; Luke Brown sends men to CAA tourney
Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle