The Hofstra Chronicle, April 18, 2017

HEMPSTEAD, NY Volume 82 Issue 18

The Hofstra

Chronicle

Tuesday April 18, 2017

Keeping the hofstra Community informed since 1935

Title IX transition sparks questions about transparency

By Laurel O’Keefe and Katie Krahulik NEW S E D I TO R / ASSISTA N T N E W S E D I TO R

Hofstra’s former Title IX Coordinator Lara Nochomovitz resigned from her position in March after her title was officially changed in February from Title IX Coordinator to Title IX Officer for Student Issues. Nochomovitz was replaced by Allison Vernace, the former Coordinator for Student Success and Title IX Initiatives.

Student Affairs officials assured concerned students that the new title did not bring about a change in Nochomovitz’s duties as a Title IX deputy, which were limited to resolving only student-to-student sexual discrimination and misconduct issues.

“This position has always only had responsibility in handling student-tostudent issues and training responsibilities,” said Colin Sullivan, the director of Communications for Student Affairs.

During an investigation of this transition, The Chronicle found documents that suggest Nochomovitz was able to assist in resolving matters involving student-to-employee conflicts.

In addition, the Title IX officer’s office was relocated from Roosevelt Hall to Phillips Hall, among the Student Affairs offices. Students were not informed of the title change until two months later, when an email was sent from Student Affairs introducing Vernace as the interim officer on Friday, April 14. This transition caused

confusion and concern on campus.

It is stated in the 2016-2017 Student Policy Prohibiting Discriminatory Harassment, Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct that, “The Coordinator also serves as a Harassment Advisor under the University’s Harassment Policy and is available to meet with students.”

Working under the policy, it is outlined that she “may assist the parties in resolving a complaint informally without the need to file a formal complaint.”

In an email, Sullivan said “The harassment policy applies to student/employee matters which has always been overseen by the Director of Human Resources.”

Any allegations involving athletic employees are handled

by the Title IX deputy for athletics.

Today, the Hofstra Title IX website does not explicitly state that the Title IX Officer for Student Issues serves as a Harassment Advisor. Instead, it states “The Title IX Officer for Student Issues is also responsible for referring any reports of Sexual Harassment, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking and Sexual Misconduct against employees or other nonstudents to the Human Resources Director, who serves as the Title IX Officer for Employee Matters.”

While Student Affairs launches a search for a new fulltime Title IX Officer for Student Issues, Vernace took over the position temporarily, directly after Nochomovitz resigned to maintain constant

student access to Title IX services.

Students were not informed of the title change at the time, nor were they informed of the prior Title IX Coordinator’s resignation and replacement.

It was not until student organizations started asking questions as to whether Hofstra still had a Title IX Coordinator, that the Division of Student Affairs sent an email informing students of the changes, two months after the fact.

“I thought that students would be told when we got the new coordinator, but we never were.

There was a lot of confusion in the activist circle that I am in,” said Natasha Rapazzo, the president of Campus Feminist

safe space. The speak-out portion of the event was meant to bring awareness to the widespread issue of sexual violence, specifically within the Hofstra community, while also providing support for survivors.

Lola Solis, a sophomore history, political science and women’s studies major – who also helped coordinate the event through CFC – said, “I was really happy with the way Take Back the Night turned out this year, there was about 100 people at its peak so that was a new record.”

Solis continued, “I was really proud of all of my friends that got up and spoke; I know it was really important for them to let out a lot of the emotions and feelings that they had because it’s been bottled up for so long.

And to let it out, especially in front of people who are there to

support you, is really important and empowering.”

As successful of a turnout the night received, some felt there is room for improvement in coming events.

Junior journalism major, Robin Pereira said, “Take Back the Night was very successful turnout, however I hope for next year to get more than 150, maybe 250 students.”

She continued, “I am disappointed, however, of the Greek life turnout because women in sororities have a twice as likely chance of being victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

It would be more important next year for them to come out just to educate themselves and for fraternity men just to get more of an education on the subject.”

Guest speakers, one of whom was Hofstra alumna and New York Assemblywoman Mi-

chaelle Solages, kicked off the event by speaking about how important activism against these issues are.

Solages, who graduated from Hofstra in 2007, spoke about

her career path and how she first recognized the changes that needed to be made on college campuses.

“I always knew at my core

Continued on A3

Student activists protest at ‘Take Back the Night’

By Laurel O’Keefe and Katie Krahulik NEW S E D I TO R / ASSISTA N T N E W S E D I TO R

Take Back the Night, an annual rally and march hosted by Collegiate Women of Color, Campus Feminist Collective (CFC) and Student Advocates of Safer Sex (SASS), filled the Student Center Theater with emotion on Friday, April 15, as students gathered to speak out and stand in solidarity against sexual violence.

The night of activism was meant to “raise awareness and educate the public on issues of sexual and gender-based violence and to support and empower survivors,” according to a press release.

The event, which began at 7 p.m., invited students to a stage to speak about their experiences regarding sexual violence in a

Continued ON A2

Peter Soucy / Hofstra Chronicle Students marched through campus to protest sexual violence.

Inside this issue: Spam email sent to student body (A3) and the Breakdown on air conditioning(A4)

NEWS

A 2 • april 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Activists initiate sexual assault dialogue tions where I would be with the athletes and I always felt that unsafe feeling,” Solages said.

She continued, “So one day my friend and I were talking about what we could do. And we really never had guidance. It was something that was really never talked about in college.”

Solages explained that after

working her way into political action, she realized why her Continued from a1 role was so important. She mothat I really care about people tivated students to join her path – that I wanted to be there to of activism, with the motto, effect change. I studied athletic “the hushed mouth doesn’t get training here at Hofstra. I used fed.” to travel with our football team, “I have a theory in my the lacrosse team and you know head … this little motto – ‘the it was funny because I would hushed mouth doesn’t get fed.’ get into these awkward situaIf you don’t speak up you’ll never get what you want,” Solages said. “If I don’t go up to Albany ... and fight for legislation on sexual harassment on college campuses, if I don’t go out and vote for pro-choice legislation … I won’t succeed.”

Solages’ message carried throughout the night as students came to the stage to open up about their own experiences. Some felt that although they couldn’t Peter Soucy / The Hofstra Chronicle speak themselves, they Peter Soucy / Hofstra Chronicle had an empowering Students chanted messages such as “Yes means yes, no means no!” voice through others.

Solis said, “I myself thought about going up there a few times but I didn’t. I don’t like crying in front of people so I just didn’t know how to do it, but I was definitely more close to going up and speaking this time than usual.”

“So it was definitely really empowering to see all these [people] give their stories and how despite everything that’s happened, they are still strong enough to go up and talk about it in front of people and go about their day. So I’m really happy with the way it turned out,” Solis said.

The speak-out was followed by a protest march around campus, accompanied by Public Safety for support. Students marched with signs with messages such as “Your Feelings Are Valid,” and “ONLY YES MEANS YES,” and chanted slogans such as “Racist, sexist, anti-gay – you can’t take our rights away,” and “Yes means yes, no means no - Whatever we wear wherever we go!”

Gabby Perry remembered at memorial concert

By Laurel O’Keefe NEW S E D I TO R

Liberty Live, a fundraising event organized by Hofstra Concerts in efforts to raise money for Planned Parenthood, was held on Saturday, April 15, in memory of Gabrielle (Gabby) Perry, class of 2016, who passed away on Feb. 21, 2017, in a car crash on Route 28 in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Perry was 22 when the crash took her life; the driver of the vehicle she was in was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Originally from Leesburg, Virginia, the alumna was a double major in religion and English, but one of her most notable impacts on Hofstra’s campus was with Hofstra Concerts and Student Advocates of Safer Sex (SASS).

The concert – which featured Hofstra-based talent, from bands to individuals – went from noon until 8 p.m. and brought together these clubs and others to raise money for an

organization Perry supported: Planned Parenthood of Nassau County.

“We decided to do this event for Gabby because it was something she was really passionate about. She was very passionate about social issues such as Planned Parenthood and women’s rights issues, so we wanted to honor her in that way by also going after her other big passion which was music,” Salvatore Gaurdino, a senior television major from Hofstra Concerts said.

“We thought we could do something for a really good cause that would’ve meant something to her and also put on a really good concert.”

The concert was originally planned as another event for Hofstra Concerts, but following Perry’s death, it was organized so that seven musical acts and over 20 participating organizations or clubs would raise money for Planned Parenthood and celebrate the life of Perry.

Jeremy Sporn, a senior film

major and the president of Hofstra Concerts said, “In the end of February, I got some bad news that my friend had passed away.

She was one of our executive board members for two years.

And I thought – all of this work that we’ve been putting into this event needs to be some type of memorial fundraiser show. So I decided – let’s do this for her.

Let’s get as much involvement as we can.”

Another organizer of the event, Gavin Hawkins, a junior business economics major said, “You can tell the impact she had on people by how willing they were to get involved and the impact she’s had on this campus is incredible. Every single person who is a part of this is passionate and it’s wonderful because we have her family here and we have all these clubs here to help raise money for a cause she really cared about: Planned Parenthood.”

During the event, concert goers were able to make a donation and participate in games

sponsored by the organizations involved. The event brought out many of Perry’s friends as they commemorated and remembered her life on campus.

Guardino commented on how Perry helped him get involved at Hofstra. “I was a transfer student and I didn’t really know anybody and I came to Hofstra Concerts and they had an open [executive board] slot ... I ran and I got the position and became her co-chair for advertising for a year.”

He continued, “She was a face that could just light up any room and I think that’s why you have so many people out here who really want to show they cared for her because she really was one of the nicest human beings you’ll ever meet.”

The event raised approximately $1,800 for Planned Parenthood of Nassau County and highlighted the importance of Perry’s life – a life that the Hofstra community felt needed to be shared, remembered and celebrated.

The Hofstra

Chronicle www.thehofstrachronicle.com 203 Student Center

Editor-in-Chief Michael Ortiz Managing Editor Kyle Kandetzki Business Manager Erin Kiley News Editors Danny Nikander Laurel O’Keefe Assistant News Editor Katie Krahulik A&E Editors Brianna Holcomb Brianna Ciniglio Assistant A&E Editor Rob Dolen Sports Editors Kevin Carroll PJ Potter

Assistant Sports Editor

Joe Fay

@Hofstra Editor Amanda Valentovic Assistant @Hofstra Editors Allison Eichler Mack Caldwell Editorial Editor Gabriella Ciuffetelli Assistant Editorial Editors Kirnendra Sidhu Andy Sadaheo Copy Chiefs Sarah Kocher Marie Haaland Multimedia Editors Jesse Saunders Peter Soucy Social Media Manager Kimberly Gazdek

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.

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NEWS

The Chronicle

April 18, 2017•A 3

Student concerns effect late notice of Title IX changes Continued from a1 Collective (CFC). She was first informed by a member of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County that there would be a new Title IX Coordinator at Hofstra. As this was news to her as the president of an activist group on campus, she grew uneasy.

In regards to the change in title, Vice President for Student Affairs W. Houston Dougharty said Student Affairs found that after two years, the title adjustment was necessary in order to clarify Nochomovitz’s role.

“What became really evident was that there were people at the university wanting Lara in her position to work with students to be addressing Title IX stuff all over campus,” Dougharty said.

“There are already people who have that responsibility in Human Resources and athletics in our legal affairs office. So, it became clear that we needed to clarify her role so that folks knew that she was the person for student issues.”

Dougharty said that Student Affairs was, “Not doing anything to change her responsibilities other than to

clarify to everybody that she was the ‘student’ person.”

The following month, Nochomovitz resigned.

Dougharty said, “She took another job as far as I know.”

According to Sullivan, the former coordinator left the university “to pursue her career elsewhere.”

“She had come to us from a practice space as an attorney and she returned to such, and this is something that Lara had shared.

She went back to her family.

She’s not from the area, and now she’s back with the crew,” Sullivan said.

As this information was also not publicized to students in areas other than the website, confusion ensued. The lack of clarity on the transition disoriented students so much so that several groups created a petition demanding that Hofstra provides the university with a Title IX Coordinator, unaware that the position was never left vacant.

“I’m frustrated because students deserve transparency, especially given the nature of Title IX,” said Sarah Puckett, a sophomore television production and global studies major who is also the public relations chair

of CFC and a member of Peace Action Matters.

According to Dougharty, the job would not be different, and thus Student Affairs felt at that time, no announcement would be necessary.

“There was no intent to try and keep any information from anybody. What we were thinking was if folks need to reach out to the Title IX person in Student Affairs, they’re still going to be able to do that through all the ways they’ve always done it. There wasn’t ever a gap in time when they could do that,” Dougharty said.

“People weren’t reaching out to a name; they were reaching out to a position,” he said.

Dougharty further explained the department’s logic behind the title change.

“We were always trying to figure out what’s the best way, number one, for students to know that this is the person that they can see as their go-to person, but also, so that the workload is appropriate for this person because it’s a big job. We hadn’t hired [Nochomovitz] to be responsible for athletic issues or employee issues,” Dougharty said.

Sullivan later said in an email,

“The title change has nothing to do with the work load. The position and responsibilities never changed. Only the title.

The title “Title IX Coordinator” implies more than the position is and was overseeing, so the new title clarified the role more accurately. This position has always only had responsibility in handling student to student issues and training responsibilities.”

Unlike Nochomovitz, Vernace does not have a legal background but she does have a master’s in social work.

Regarding her new position, Vernace said, “It’s already work that I was involved in prior to this. Before this I was involved in being the co-chair on the It’s On Us Committee. I am still the co-chair of the It’s On Us Committee, but the title did not change that involvement or influence it any more than it already was in what I was doing.”

Amid one of Hofstra’s most prevalent weeks for sexual assault and harassment awareness, students were thrown into disarray and sought out an explanation. This past week, Students Advocates of Safer Sex (SASS) hosted The Clothesline

Project, which is defined by the Office for Student Leadership and Engagement (OSLE) website in the Hofstra portal as a way to take “staggering, mindnumbing statistics and turn them into a provocative, ‘in-yourface’ educational and healing tool.” In addition to that, CFC, Collegiate Women of Color and SASS hosted Take Back the Night on Friday, April 14, an event that features a sexual assault speak out requiring safe rooms and counselors from the Joan and Arnold Saltzman Community Services Center.

Rapazzo said, “... it disappoints me that we had to repeatedly ask for the basic Title IX information and that it took our group of activists to get one email out explaining the situation to the students. As a student, it is scary. It makes me wonder what else Hofstra is hiding from us that we need to go out and find for ourselves, but as an activist I feel proud that we were able to get the school to work with us and tell us the truth, hopefully. I want them to know that we will keep fighting as long as we have to in order to keep the school working for the students, not the donors.”

been placed on your account” for unpaid university bills. “It is imperative that you resolve this issue in order to receive full credit for the semester,” the latter emails said. Failure to resolve the GPA matter “may result in suspension/ expulsion from the university,” according to that string of emails.

“I panicked for a good 20 minutes and then realized there was no possible way my GPA was that low,” said freshman Amanda Nikias. “Then I got the phishing email and realized Hofstra wanted to kill me.”

Several departments, including Student Financial Services, were inundated with

questions and concerns from students; some were told this appeared to be a real scam.

Hofsta’s Help Desk, which provides computer support for the university’s constituents, sent an email to students several

you. If you clicked on the link, nothing malicious will happen and you will be presented with a web page explaining the issues with clicking on an unknown link. Please ignore these emails.”

Catherine Fisher, the assistant director of Faculty Computing Services and manager for Academic Operations was one professor behind the assignment, as was Mike Horowitz, an instructional technologist for Faculty Computing Services.

“The email was sent out as a class assignment,” Fisher said. “Mike and I teach Intro to Computer Concepts and Software Tools for the business

school, and one of our topics is security – IT cyber security – and we had a phishing email assignment in both classes and we evaluated and reviewed each other’s classes’ emails.”

According to Fisher, 60 students participated in crafting the dubious emails as part of the Phishing Simulation Project started in 2014. The project aims to raise awareness by redirecting recipients of the emails to information on how to avoid actual phishing scams.

Robert Juckiewicz, the vice president for Information Technology, authorized the dissemination of the emails and said, “The university does – for students annually and for faculty and staff several times a year – an awareness program. We have found that sending out phishing emails has the best impact in

Phishing ‘scam’ triggers panic and confusion

By Michael Ortiz EDITOR - I N - C H I E F

Students in two classes in the Department of Information Systems & Business Analytics had an assignment: draft fake emails to send to fellow students that would raise awareness about phishing scams. The emails certainly raised awareness about the issue when they were sent on Monday, but they did so while causing campus-wide panic and confusion as students feared they faced suspension, expulsion or a hold on their financial accounts and several departments scrambled to figure out what was going on.

Depending on which email students received – which appeared to be from “University Support” – they were either told their GPA “could jeopardize your admissions here at the University” or “a hold has

“We all regret any stress that we caused either to a student, a family member or anyone. It was not what we intended to do.”

hours after the fake emails were sent explaining, “These are spam emails sent as a learning exercise to get you to click on the link. The content is fictitious and absolutely does not apply to

Continued on A4

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Hofstra shaves heads at annual St. Baldrick’s Day

By Katie Krahulik ASSISTA N T N E W S E D I TO R

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization designed to elicit support for children with cancer, made its annual appearance at Hofstra on Wednesday, April 12. Between the event held in the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center last week and at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine a few weeks prior, the group raised over $28,000 and shaved nearly 60 heads.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation aims to raise money for children’s cancer research and treatment by recruiting volunteers to shave their heads in solidarity with cancer patients who typically lose their hair during treatment.

Thomas Kastiw introduced the event to Hofstra nine years ago and has shaved his head every year since. “I’ll be honest, the first year I did it was just to get a free haircut because I had atrociously long hair,” Kastiw said.

“So I was looking for a reason to shave it, and I found St. Baldrick’s Foundation through a friend and I was able to raise a decent amount of money,

and then the following year I thought it was such a great event that I brought it to Hofstra. I got the hockey team to do it. Then, every year after that we made it a campus wide thing,” Kastiw said.

The event is hosted by the School of Medicine along with the Hofstra Roller Hockey Club, and Kastiw explained that it is held in the Student Center to be made a public spectacle in order to bring as much attention to the effort as possible.

“Having it in front of all these people walking by, it definitely creates a lot of interest, it creates a lot of awareness and it helps raise more money because everybody wants to help with children’s cancer research. It’s a great cause,” Kastiw said.

Gabriella Munoz, a first year MBA student, shaved her head for a third consecutive time for the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser this year.

“There is really not enough awareness in the fact that children’s cancer research is extremely different from cancer research in general. Although no one deserves cancer, I think that children least of all deserve cancer. It’s just ridiculous that it’s still a problem we have,”

Munoz said.

Much of the leg work for Wednesday’s fundraiser was done by Patti Reilly – the senior executive secretary at Recreation and Intramural Sports – who deals with contracts, paperwork, organizing meetings and doing much of the behind the scenes work. She too appreciates the value of the foundation’s mission. “I have three sons and each one of them has shaved their heads. My youngest is here today,” Reilly said.

Roller Hockey Club member Brian Darmstadt, a sophomore marketing major, said this event is a team effort. Some members donate, some volunteer their time and others shave their heads.

“When it comes to hair, whatever – I can grow that back. It doesn’t really matter too much to me,” Darmstadt said. “I’m willing to shave my head to show that I’m with them, and I’m willing to donate money to help them out.”

He continued, “I do this event to stand with kids who suffer from child cancers to pretty much show them that they’re not alone. People will care and everybody will donate for their cause.”

The Chronicle

Email hoax intends to raise awareness Continued from a3 making people aware. We do it on a non-scheduled basis.”

Although this technique has been used to raise awareness before, students’ finances and grades were not a factor in provoking awareness.

“I don’t know who exactly from within Hofstra is responsible for those emails, but if the whole point was to raise cyber awareness this was the wrong way to do it,” said freshman Morgan Gelsinger.

“Not only did it trigger panic attacks from me and my friends, but because it was from Hofstra I genuinely thought my enrollment was in jeopardy even though my grades are well within acceptable standards.”

“We didn’t intend to create panic and the students in our class wrote the email for their classmates,” Fisher said. “We definitely did not expect this kind of response. We discussed it in class quite a bit, showed all the emails and shared them with the students.”

Fisher claims the Office of the Regristrar, Student Computing Services and Student Affairs were made aware of the emails before they were sent, but it was clear others were

not. When asked about the situation, Deborah Mulligan, the executive director of Student Financial Services and Bursar, said she was “busy getting to the bottom of this.” Another official from Student Financial Services circulated an email to department officials telling them to “Tell students to disregard email – it is SPAM – and NOT to click on link!!”

“Whoever is responsible for this needs to be held accountable for putting that kind of stress in the minds of students with mental illnesses because this was the textbook definition of a triggering situation,” Gelsinger said.

“These exercises are meant to promote a safe environment for students,” Juckiewicz said.

“The world is a crazy place out there in terms of cyber security and we just want to prepare our students and make them aware.”

Juckiewicz said they will be reviewing what they did and the unintentional consequences that emerged, as well as take steps to prevent this from happening again.

He said, “We all regret any stress that we caused either to a student, a family member or anyone. It was not what we intended to do.”

NEWS

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April 18, 2017•A 5

Author expresses importance of gender equality

By Samantha Storms STAFF W R I T E R

In recognition of Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of gender pay inequality in the workforce, acclaimed journalist Jessica Bennett spoke to Hofstra students on April 11 about her book “Feminist Fight Club,” a practical guide for women about surviving sexist workplaces.

Throughout her talk, Bennett spoke of the importance of feminism in today’s increasingly competitive workplace and discussed her personal experience in combating sexism.

Bennett recalled her early years working as a junior journalist at Newsweek magazine and how her personal feminist fight club came into existence.

She explained that she and her fellow female writers were struggling to rise up into more powerful positions at the magazine, trailing behind their male counterparts.

“A lot of times we didn’t necessarily recognize what we were dealing with in our office environments, and there was a sense of turning inward and blaming ourselves,” Bennett said. “Eventually, we began meeting and getting together

every month to talk about these issues and collectively realized that feminism was something we needed and identified with.”

Katherine O’Keefe, a sophomore English and women’s studies major, believed that by taking the proper steps to equalize the pay gap and combat gender inequality, issues regarding women’s rights would be further applicable to more of the nation’s demographics, specifically concerning issues of intersectionality.

“I hope that we take an intersectional approach to trying to approach the issue of equal pay because there are so many other issues that go into it, like gender issues and racial issues,” she said. “I hope that when we look at the issue of equal pay that we look at it across the board.”

In response to the radical opposition that often rises against the feminist movement, Bennett welcomes the opportunity to bring attention to the issues that attribute to unequal pay and subtle sexism. She explained throughout her talk that a national dialogue surrounding gender equality should not take on an “us versus them” mentality.

Gavin Hawkins, a junior business economics major, agreed

with Bennett’s thoughts on how have highlighted are great, and the nation into the next generato deal with negative percepI’ve seen with my own male tion of feminism. tions of feminism through edufriends that if you have the right “It’s so important that we incation and collaboration. “The words it can make them think, clude men in this conversation, majority of the feminist move‘Oh yeah, that’s what I do.’” because we are not going to ment [is] people that are going At the end of her talk, Bennett get anywhere if it’s just women for the betterment of everyone urged the men in the audience talking to each other,” she said. and equality, which is extremely to take action in the fight for “The reality is that most men of important. I think the voices that equal rights and putting an end your generation really do want are radical are a minority,” he to sexism in the workplace, equality and care about these said. emphasizing the power of both issues, and so we all have to be Dr. Gregory DeFreitas, a profemale and male voices to bring in this together.” fessor of economics and the director of Hofstra’s Labor Studies Degree program, organized the event and emphasized the importance of young people advocating for women’s rights in an increasingly aggressive political climate.

“I have great hope that the millennial generation will really make greater strides than my generation did, but there’s both unsubtle and subtle barriers still to women,” he said. “The kind Photo courtesy of Getty Images of vocabulary that Jessica Bennett spoke to Hofstra about her book “Feminist Fight Club.”

Jessica and others

Public Safety Briefs Compiled by Brianna O’Keefe On April 4, two students reported that between April 1 and April 3, a former male student had violated a no-contact order by commenting on two Instagram accounts he had been banned from. An investigation is being conducted.

On April 8 at 8:30 p.m., PS observed a student wearing a yellow PS jacket. The student was not affiliated with PS and when the student was initially questioned about how he obtained the jacket, he gave conflicting statements. When questioned again, he stated that during a party at an off-campus location, he was given the jacket by an unidentified female and he wore it to buy food. The jacket was recovered and the student was issued a referral to OCS for violation of university policy.

On April 9, several athletes from the women’s lacrosse team reported to the Information Center that an unknown person or persons had entered the locker room while the team was away for a game at Drexel University.

The students reported theft of credit cards and cash from the lockers. There had also been a number of illegal purchases made on the credit cards. NCPD was notified, responded and prepared a report. An investigation is being conducted.

On April 10 at 12:20 a.m., PS observed an unknown male forcibly open a locked door at the southwest corner of Weed Hall and enter the building. The officer radioed for assistance and units responded. Upon arrival a search was conducted, and the male – along with seven

other people – were observed in a study room. They were identified as Hofstra students, and when questioned they stated they were there to study. The seven students were verified to have swipe access, but the male who opened the locked door stated he did so because he did not have swipe access. He was escorted out of the building and issued a referral to OCS. On April 10 at 2 a.m., PS responded to a report of a verbal dispute between a male and a female student in front of Nassau Hall. Upon arrival the situation was calmed and both students admitted to having an argument inside and outside of the building. Both students were offered counseling, which they refused.

They were both issued referrals to OCS for disruptive behavior.

On April 11 at 4 p.m., a student reported that between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. on April 8, he left his blue headphones on a table inside an office in the Student Center. When he returned, he discovered that his headphones were missing.

Police assistance was declined at this time.

On April 13 at 10 p.m., PS received a report that there was a male begging for money in the Netherlands Core. PS responded and observed the male soliciting money from a student. The male was identified as a non-student who had no purpose being on campus. He was escorted to the Information Center and banned from campus.

On April 14 at 1:15 a.m., a Hofstra student failed to present her ID while entering the main

entrance to North Campus. She appeared intoxicated and agitated. She remained uncooperative and was issued a referral to OCS for failure to comply with the university regulation of showing her ID upon entering campus.

Key PS – Public Safety OCS – Office of Community Standards NCPD – Nassau County Police Department

@Hofstra

A 6 • April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Overheard @ Hofstra In Constitution Hall:

Do deaf people think in Braille?

On the Unispan:

I considered joining Sugarbaby University.

In Dutch Treats:

She’s a doughnut box of insecurities.

In Bits and Bytes:

In the Student Center: I would 11 out of 10 times be Putin’s Monica Lewinski.

That’s a thing? Sign me the f*ck up!

On Calkins Quad:

In LH Comm:

In Axinn Library:

Listen, Residence Life is not going to stop me from getting it.

Kanye West is the only true citizen of the United States.

Yo girl is so old she still calls LH Comm, Dempster.

Ow, there’s asbestos in my eye.

Alumna writes ‘Totally Awesome’ comic book

By Chris Zalewski SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R O N I CL E

work – was able to actually help me in writing comics for the first time. There wasn’t as steep of a learning curve.”

Williams’ enthusiasm for comics is evident – she was introduced to them during her years at Hofstra by her roommate and quickly fell in love. Currently, her favorite character is Emma Frost from the X-Men because “she’s such a complicated character; pretty much wherever she goes she’s going to be the smart-

Ever since I read my first volume of Brian Michael Bendis’ “Ultimate Spider-Man” in middle school, I have been hooked on superhero comics. Marvel, DC, Image – I didn’t care, as long as there were superheroes in it. So when I spoke with Leah Williams, the author of “Totally Awesome Hulk: Monsters Unleashed #1” for Marvel Comics, I was understandably ecstatic.

A fellow comic fan, Williams is also a Hofstra graduate, having earned a “I can see the shape of what degree in film studies and I’m going to write.” production in 2010. She was deeply involved in the Hofstra Filmmakers Club and worked in the school of comest person in the room because munication’s equipment room. she’s a powerful telepath.” This Williams began working in love for Marvel led her to leap film in Los Angeles, California, at the chance for a job with the before working in a comic book company when she received an shop where she read tons of comemail from an editor at Marvel ics. This led to writing fanficasking her if she had any interest tion and blog posts, which then in writing comics. “I had this 15erupted into all kinds of writing, foot vinyl poster of the X-Men including scripts. on the wall behind me and I had “It’s a different mode of stoto take 12 hours to calm down rytelling, but it’s really similar, before I answered because I was especially for comics,” Williams freaking out,” Williams said. said about the difference in writThe comic concerns Maddie ing for film and writing comics.

Cho, sister of Amadeus Cho “I think my film background (the current Hulk), contacting – because it’s such a visual an alien warrior named Lady medium and the way screenplays

Hellbender to ask her about the “Big Bads” for the Marvel event “Monsters Unleashed.”

“I can see the shape of what I’m going to write.

No matter how many different characters there are, I can always kind of visualize the edges of what I’m writing in my head,” Williams said. “So Photo courtesy of Leah Williams it’s easier for me to Leah Williams recently published her first comic book, “Totally Awesome Hulk: Monsters Unleashed kind of use a #1 for Marvel Comics. male characters, but is confident comic, as well as working on visual shorthand to keep in mind that the disparity will improve screenplays, including one which instead of thinking ‘OK, well as time goes on. “I think just the found its genesis at Hofstra while Maddie’s a genius, she’s really fact that they reached out to me she was a student. smart, so she’s going to be kind means they’re very conscious of But don’t worry: all the writing of snarky and use big words.’” it and that it is something that won’t exhaust Williams of the It’s common knowledge they’re working on actively,” she art. She said, “I never lose time among the comic community that said. doing anything else like I do with male writers dominate the indusIn terms of future projects, writing, and it is transcendently try, and Williams acknowledged Williams will be continuing her joyful.” this, pointing out that it is rare work with Marvel and writing a that female writers get to write short in the “Adventure Time”

@Hofstra

A 7 • April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Paws-itively adorable: Cats add to campus charm

By Ava Mandel and Daniel Nguyen STAFF W R I T E R S

One of the most unique aspects of campus life at Hofstra is the presence of some furry friends who hang out on the quad and around many academic buildings. The Hofstra cats have been around since Kate Hofstra’s death in 1933 and rumor has it that the cats on campus are taken care of by staff and faculty; however, this is false. The life of a Hofstra cat is in fact much more dependent on good Samaritans and animal benefactors.

One of today’s benefactors, Lori Montanino, has been taking care of Hofstra cats since she began as an undergraduate student at Hofstra. Montanino, a current fifth year graduate student in Hofstra’s School-Community psychology doctoral program, has formed close connections with the cats on campus as their de-facto caretaker.

“I always make fun of myself because I am definitely like the crazy cat lady on campus,” Montanino said.

One cat – known by students as Calkins Cat since he is predominantly sighted near Calkins Hall – is known for being especially friendly on campus.

He recently suffered an infected paw. Seeing the limping feline, a Public Safety officer contacted Montanino, who took Calkins Cat, whose name is Franklin, to the vet where he was deflead and taken to her home for recovery.

Franklin’s case is just one of many instances where Montanino has taken it upon herself to take care of the Hofstra cats. But the strain is considerable, both financially and timewise, especially since Montanino now has five cats and a puppy at home. With a

dissertation and full-time job, her ability to care for Hofstra’s many cats has increasingly waned.

Now facing graduation in May, Montanino hopes to establish an official group for the cats’ care before she leaves.

She is one of many individuals on campus that have become the unofficial caretakers for the cats since there is no official department or staff member responsible for these felines’ wellbeing. “There’s no one on campus whose job it is specifically to take care of the cats,” Montanino said. “It’s just [been] individual staff and students over the years.”

Multiple issues arise out of the current lack of – despite Montanino’s caretaking – a dependable care system for the cats.

One such issue is the circulation of the misinformation that the cats are taken care of by Hofstra.

“People want to help, but are sort of on the fence [and] think, ‘oh someone else is going to do that, somebody else takes care of that, they’re all taken care of ... they have somewhere to go inside and they’re taken care of regularly by vets.’ And none of that is true,” Montanino said.

Another solo-acting cat caregiver is Claire Cosgrove. Cosgrove is known in the Hofstra cat rescue world for taking over the cat colony located by Café on the Quad. She has been caring for the felines there for the past 10 years.

Cosgrove is an active participant in the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program and still traps about 40 to 50 cats in this area a week that she brings in to get sprayed and neutered. Montanino said, “She doesn’t have any formal training or background.

She’s not employed by the town or anything like that. She’s just

MEME OF THE WEEK Every week The Chronicle will choose a meme from the Facebook group “Hofstra Students For a Memeingful Discussion” to be the Meme of the Week. This week’s winner:

somebody who wants to help.”

In addition to single-acting members of the community caring for the cats, multiple organizations have also chipped in to assist with these furry creatures.

Organizations – including Tender Loving Cats – focus on rescuing cats, cat rehabilitation and reducing Long Island’s cat population through TNR. In fact, the town of Hempstead also offers a free TNR program.

According to Montanino, a TNR program allows “any cat who is a community cat, who is a feral cat, who is not owned, is spayed and neutered for free by the town. They get their first rabies and distemper shots and they also get deflead and dewormed.”

TNR programs effectively reduce the feral cat population size without euthanization and allows for the cats to live longer and healthier lives. To illustrate the effectiveness of TNR as opposed to the outdated catch-and-kill method, consider statistics from Alley Cat Allies, an advocacy organization devoted to protecting and improving the lives of cats.

Seventy-two percent of all cats entering animal control pounds and shelters are killed, just 23 percent are adopted and only 2 percent are reunited with their owners. For feral cats, the kill rate in pounds and shelters rises to nearly 100 percent.

Despite the work of Tender Loving Cats and organizations like it, there is still a need for an officially organized group to care for the cats and maintain their shelters. These shelters are numerous and spread out across campus, providing the cats protection from the harmful elements during Hofstra’s winter season.

Unfortunately, spring cleaning and the Plant Department – who

Amanda Valentovic / Hofstra Chronicle The Calkins Cat, also known as Franklin, was taken home by Montanino to recover from an infected paw.

maintain the university’s idyllic landscape – often throw out the unsightly cat shelters. “Their job is to plant the flowers and make sure everything looks nice, and they get thrown out in the process which is why I use cheaper and disposable shelters, but it’s still $20 or $30 for every shelter that gets thrown out. So it can be frustrating, but what I do typically is locate them in different places around campus where I know the cats are already living,” Montanino said.

To reconcile these problems, Montanino suggests establishing an official student cat caretaker club in association with departments on campus, as well as with animal organizations off-campus, such as Tender Loving Cats.

“I think that having an organized program would be beneficial on all fronts and there’s no negatives to it. I think that it would be easier to maintain a high level of care for [the cats],” Montanino said. “I think a lot of people want to help, but they

“When it’s 2 months into the semester and someone takes your seat:” - Adam Stark, senior video/TV production major

just don’t know how. So I think that an organization would help for people to know how to get involved, to be able to volunteer time or financial resources or whatever and it would also centralize the process for [rescuing a cat].”

Stony Brook University already has a dynamic cat caretaker organization on its campus that Hofstra could model a similar future club off of. The institution’s cat-care group consists of students, some people from the community and its faculty and staff.

A cat care group would be sure to care for all cats on campus and continue the TNR process. Cats such as Franklin, who is now recovering peacefully in Montanino’s home, would be given the opportunity to receive proper treatment and care under a cat caretaker club.

Franklin, nicknamed affectionately by Montanino as the “Unfraidy Brindle,” is currently awaiting adoption.

@Hofstra

A 8 • April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Man on the Unispan What is your view of the U.S. military action in Syria?

B y Av a Ma n del STAF F W R I T E R

“I think it’s really scary and that we should take action other than bombing. And find out another way to handle that situation.”

-Gabrielle Mercieca Sophomore Photos by Claudia Steel

“I think it’s a completely wrong move.

I think that Trump bit off more than he can chew. This isn’t where the U.S. should be standing right now because we should be focusing more on internal things that we have rather than again, putting our nose where it shouldn’t be.”

-Kimberly Salkin Junior

“I think it was a horrendous idea and that it should never have happened ... They put so much effort into just bombing people [who] did not deserve it, because they definitely killed civilians.”

-Mark Bevilacqua Freshman Peter Soucy / Hofstra Chronicle

Kelly’s Quest: Gallivanting around Greece

By Kelly Martin STAFF W R I T E R

Over the past two weeks we have been on somewhat of a whirlwind journey, moving throughout five different countries. We have been to Greece, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Hungary. The past two weeks have been some of the hardest on the trip, not only because of the amount of traveling we have been doing and how often we have to pack up and move, but also because of the fact that we had midterms.

One of the most exciting things we have experienced so far was going to Athens and seeing all of the ruins we have learned about and seen pictures of.

“Seeing the Parthenon with my own two eyes was an incredible experience for me. When I first learned about Ancient Greece in elementary school, I realized that I wanted to visit and study history. Now I am on this trip as a history major … mission

accomplished,” Nick Booth said about visiting the city.

All of us were stunned at how old everything was and how it all still held a sense of importance that was too much to try to comprehend as we wandered around the Acropolis.

After Athens, it was time to get serious about our studies.

While this was stressful, it was worth dealing with because of how beautiful our surroundings were. We got to stay right on the water, in Nafplio. It was amazing to watch the sunsets. It made studying much easier, and the study breaks way more fun.

We were heading into more of Eastern Europe than any of us had been to before, but before we arrived in Croatia, we took a short two-day stop in Venice, Italy. The city was astounding, and more than lived up to the hype that we had heard prior to our arrival. Of course, we took a gondola ride through the canals, which was a beautiful and unique

way to see the city. Our gondolier was incredibly knowledgeable about the city – as he was a seventh generation gondolier – and even sang us some songs during our ride. We went souvenir shopping for Venetian glass, one of the most popular souvenirs in Italy, and then went on our way to Croatia.

Croatia was a little bit of a shock for most of us, in the best way possible. The landscapes were unbelievably beautiful. It didn’t matter if we were on the Kelly Martin/Hofstra Chronicle coast sitting next to the The ports in Dubrovnik, Crotia, where parts of “Game of Thrones” were shot.

Sea Organ, or in the inland capital city of Zagreb sitto see all of the filming locations, cause it is incredibly hard to not ting at the street restaurants and but I opted to sit on the rocks feel relaxed after experiencing enjoying food and drinks among with an iced coffee and watch all of the beauty we saw in these many other tourists and locals. all of the kayakers and boaters past few days.

One of the best stops we made enjoying their days on the water.

We move on to Budapest now, in Croatia was in Dubrovnik, I was genuinely surprised at how with higher expectations of Eastwhere “Game of Thrones” was relaxed I felt when leaving Croern Europe than we had before. shot. Many people on my trip atia: partially because midterm I have a hard time believing that were excited about taking a tour stress was over and partially beHungary will not live up to the

@Hofstra

A 9 • April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Humans of Hofstra

By Emily Hulbert

Meet the SGA Candidates

STAF F W R I T E R

Rita Cinquemani, candidate for president

Abby Normandin, candidate for vice president

“I am running for Student Government president ... I first got involved in Student Government in middle school and ever since then I have always run for the executive board of the Student Government ... My ultimate goal in life is to become a U.S. senator for the state of New York.

Throughout our entire year on the cabinet, Abby and I have both been working on communication and improving it with administration and students, not only just with administration and SGA, like opening up a dialogue and making sure the different departments can work to see what students actually want to see happen on campus. We want to improve that by collaborating more with more events between SGA and the different departments; we kind of started that with Student Appreciation Week.

Also making sure that there is more SGA representation at club meetings and administrative meetings and making sure that there is a student voice on every single search committee and things like that. Realizing that everything the university does is with students in mind and making sure that that is implemented. Something that I am currently working on is increasing the Student Health Services available on campus, like working with the Wellness Center at student counseling services to see how we can better serve students and what services that we don’t provide we can provide in the future. We also want to follow up on things mentioned in the Town Hall to make sure that students’ voices are not lost as the year progresses and to make sure that the university always has these ideas in the back of their mind.”

“I am running for SGA vice president ... I was involved a little bit in Student Government in high school, but the thing that really motivated me to join in college was in high school, I was involved with the Best Buddies organization. It’s basically a non-profit that works to help special needs students create friendships within their high schools or colleges. Life-goal wise, I want to go into doing advocacy work, especially with non-profits to help advocate for disability rights and disability rights awareness.

After I joined Best Buddies in high school, I wanted to get involved in college at the Student Government level to advocate for those types of things.

Once I became involved with certain advocacy things, everything else stemmed from there, so now all of the other areas on campus that student government has been involved in I have taken on. I always say that my dream job is to work at the United Nations or Amnesty International, so that’s like the ultimate goal.

For next semester, Rita and I are looking to work closely with the intercultural clubs on campus to promote diversity inclusion. We want to have better communication between SGA and those clubs so that we can kind of help spread those social justice issues relating to that advocacy and awareness that I was talking about with my own personal initiatives.

We also want to motivate the new senators of SGA to start their own homegrown, grassroots initiatives on campus. If we have a lot of new senators on campus with a passion to change something, that will enact more change on campus in general.”

Photos by Gabbie Downs

Jesse Saunders / Hofstra Chronicle

Hofstra’s Campus Feminist Collective, Collegiate Women of Color and Student Advocates of Safer Sex Present:

Take Back The Night

Photos and Spread by Peter Soucy

Arts and Entertainment

VOL 82 ISSUE 18

Peter Soucy / Hofstra Chronicle

B 2 •April 18, 2017

A&E

The Chronicle

‘The Gauntlet’ proves representation matters

By Brianna Ciniglio

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Senior English major Hebah Uddin published her first novel, “The Gauntlet,” last month with Salaam Reads, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that focuses on Muslim characters. The novel, which is targeted at middle school-aged-readers, centers on 12-year-old Farah Mirza and her friends, who are sucked into a board game that they must defeat in order to save themselves and others who are trapped inside.

Uddin describes it as the “inverse of Jumanji,” the 1995 film in which a board game comes to life and must be defeated in the real world. She cites this story as one of the major influences of her book.

“I really, really loved ‘Jumanji’ as a kid, so that influence ended up cropping up again and again,” Uddin said.

Some of Uddin’s favorite books growing up were ones that had strong female characters,

including “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Ella Enchanted.”

“I really appreciate the fact that I had access to these titles because it gave me a foundation of, ‘Yes, girls matter. Yes, girls are strong. Yes, girls can save the world,’” Uddin said.

Her main character is reflective of this appreciation. Mirza and Uddin share some similarities. In addition to both being protective older sisters and tea lovers, they are also both Muslim. At a time when Muslim characters and authors are few and far between, this representation means a lot to Uddin.

“There are Muslim authors and we are all working hard to reclaim our narrative and speak our truths, but we’re battling against standards within the industry, stereotypes and assumptions that hold the spaces we want to have on the shelves and often cause us to doubt the importance of our voices,” Uddin said.

Although she now feels grateful that Salaam Reads has given her a space to feel confident in who she is, Uddin admits that she used to be wary about writing Muslim characters.

“This is something I’ve struggled with, particularly when I was younger, because that lack of narratives or honest truths really got to me and made me feel inadequate,” Uddin said. “I didn’t write Muslim characters, or brown characters for that matter, because I felt we weren’t wanted or cared about.”

The process of writing and publishing “The Gauntlet” was especially challenging for Uddin because she is still a student.

“There were a lot of days when I’d rush into the library, find a free computer or take my laptop up to the tenth floor and just churn out as many words as I could – get as many pages of edits done as I could before my next class,” Uddin said.

Now that the book is

published, she is excited to learn about how others are reacting to it.

“Just hearing that people actually enjoy something that I’ve written is amazing and humbling,” Uddin said. “Friends have sent me stories about their kids reading the book,

exclaiming over their favorite parts or refusing to eat dinner until they got to the very last page. It’s just incredible.”

Courtesy of Simon and Schuster Inspiration for “The Gauntlet” comes from the 1995 film “Jumanji.”

Nothing but the hits with Bon Jovi

Photo courtesy of Bon Jovi Official Illness caused Bon Jovi to delay Madison Square Garden Concert by a week.

By Joshua Ringler STAFF W R I T E R

“Sorry I’m late,” said Jon Bon Jovi.

In a world where a show “promptly” starts at 8 p.m., but doesn’t really start until 9 p.m., he really was late – a week late.

A slight sickness held Bon Jovi up from performing back “home” at Madison Square Garden in front of a sold-out crowd. The

illness only prevented him from performing for a week, and while at times his voice showed weakness, this was a powerfully memorable performance.

The weakness may not have been from the sickness, and could have just been the voice of an aging icon, but the few notes he couldn’t hit were outnumbered by the ones he could.

The show’s energy seemed to be built upon the patience of the

crowd waiting for a full week.

The fans in attendance were mostly standing and singing along. In fact, the energy of the crowd propelled Bon Jovi as a band to perform at a remarkable level.

For someone who was recently sick, Bon Jovi made it clear this wasn’t just two hours and 45 minutes of songs and speeches.

This was 165 minutes of rock ‘n’ roll, with some speeches mixed in. The show’s energy pounded with the beginning of “This House is Not for Sale” and reached fever-high levels with “You Give Love a Bad Name” early in the set.

This classic rocker didn’t rely on classic technology either.

The lights, and later projections, made the show unique in its presentation. After countless concerts, it was a completely original – and often obstructing for those behind the stage – way to use lighting to tell a story.

Speaking of telling a story, he did take some time halfway through the show to talk about the new album, “This House is

Not for Sale,” the cover art that accompanied it and how houses became people. Music became stories and his words became something else for anyone who listened.

The show did slow down in rhythm, but not in emotion or power. This was a man speaking of his art, passion and motivation for writing his latest work.

Prior to “New Year’s Day,” a song from the new album, Bon Jovi gave an ode to the theater, referencing Sting’s “Last Ship.”

The crowd was seated for this slower, lesser-known section, and the band noticed. They didn’t back down, but sent a message to the crowd. “From here on out, it’s the hits, hits and more hits!”

Bon Jovi yelled to the roar of a now-standing crowd.

A rocking trio of “Have a Nice Day,” “Bad Medicine” and “Keep the Faith” closed out a 20-song main set to a standing, loudly-clapping crowd.

He jumped into the crowd and instantly sent it into a frenzy.

The screams of the crowd, both young and old, made the stadium

rock beneath spectators’ feet.

After a long break, he reappeared in a New York Rangers T-shirt to sing a foursong encore that ended with the passionately sung duo of “Wanted Dead or Alive” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The crowd even took over a verse for the front man as the band played.

For a show that was delayed by a week, it was a performance worth the wait. The band’s last concert at the venue was for “12.12.12: The Concert for Sandy Relief,” and the more than four-year wait, was worth the price of admission.

Four years from now those in attendance won’t remember the few notes he missed and instead remember that the April 13 concert with Bon Jovi at the Garden was an amazing show.

Cover: Liberty Live concert in honor of Gabby Perry

The Chronicle

A&E

April 18, 2017•

B3

‘Damn.’

By Brianna Holcomb

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

In a world where catchy beats and half-thought-out lyrics get the most radio play, I have to take a moment to thank artists like Chance The Rapper, J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar for their perfectionist personalities and determination to keep hip-hop alive. With that being said, let’s talk about Lamar’s latest album, “Damn.”

The album begins with the song “Blood,” as a short intro to the album’s contents. The first song does not sound like a song, but instead a story placed to music. The track ends with a sound bite from Fox News personalities Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle discussing Lamar’s 2016 Grammy Awards performance. This small addition to the start of the album was when I knew I would enjoy it.

Lamar’s blatant disregard for how news outlets, especially Fox, view his work adds to his trend of expressing his views through his music. Throughout the album he continues to call out the network for their statements

against hip-hop, his artistic “f*ck you” to their comments.

Although each song on the album has a different sound to it, their messages are relatively similar throughout. Lamar continues to self-reflect on his Compton upbringing and many ideals that are prominent in the world of hip-hop today.

His song “Fear” contains this very self-evaluating nature to it. The song features a series of threats that are commonly told to many young African-American men growing up. These threats outline how we raise these boys to grow up to be men; we teach them through fear. Lamar raps, “If I could smoke fear away/ I’d roll that motherf*cker up.”

The song continues with a similar list, but this time of different ways Lamar could die. All the ways he names are familiar deaths of AfricanAmerican men, including walking home from a candy story (Trayvon Martin). In this track, Lamar outlines the fear of being an African-American male in the United States, whether it’s the fear you’re taught by family, the streets, gangs or police.

Those who know the track list will realize I am going out of order here, but I feel it is only appropriate to bring up “DNA.” This track has a very repetitive sound to it that I can appreciate.

Lamar raps about the things he values most, including loyalty and royalty. Both are pieces of himself that he affirms are in his DNA. This track features another sound bite from Fox News – where the personalities state that hip-hop is the problem with young African-Americans and is the cause of the racism taking place in the country.

His repetition of the aspects he values – mostly written over this sound bite – serves as his affirmation to the things hip-hop has taught him and his disregard for Fox’s understanding of the culture.

Other than the single “Humble,” my favorite song on the album hands down is “Love.” In this ballad, Lamar picks up a more pop-singsong sound over his hard rap that we are accustomed to. The drastic change is one I was originally wary of, but immediately loved as I played it over and over

again. Out of all of the songs off the album, “Love” may be the most simplistic in lyrics, but it is a welcomed calm.

“Damn,” is a self-reflective album that expresses what Kendrick Lamar does best:

scream the truth. He has no fears when it comes to writing truth in his lyrics and critiquing himself along the way.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images Kevin Winter Kendrick Lamar performing during 2017 Coachella Festival in Indio, CA.

Listeners have no ‘Divide’ over Ed Sheeran’s latest album

By Amanda Valentovic FEATURES EDITOR

Ed Sheeran’s hiatus came to an end this New Year’s Day, when he announced that he would be releasing new music in the next few months. His highly anticipated third album came out March 3 – much to the excitement of his fans – and for the most part, it was worth the three-year wait.

Sticking with mathematical titles, “÷” (pronounced “Divide”) gives listeners a taste of his previous music while also experimenting with some new sounds. “Happier” and “New Man” are breakup songs if there ever were any, while pre-album singles “Castle on the Hill” and “Shape of You” are pop anthems made for the radio.

Sheeran didn’t have any boundaries with his musical sound, Photo courtesy of AP either. He starts the album off rapping on “Eraser,” but later on Ed Sheeran’s single “Shape of You,” topped charts in more than 40 countries. in the tracklist is “Supermarket

Flowers” – one of the strongest songs of them all – a sweet piano ballad in memory of a grandparent.

Almost every song on the album will get stuck in your head, including the ones on the bonus track version. One that really stands out is “Nancy Mulligan,” an Irish-inspired tale about Sheeran’s grandparents’ love story. It’s not the only one that features a jig either – “Galway Girl” has a fun rhyming hook that was surely blasting from many speakers on St. Patrick’s Day this year.

One of Sheeran’s biggest hits from his last album, “Thinking Out Loud,” seems to have found a sibling melody in “Perfect,” a love song that is seemingly tailor-made for a first dance at a wedding. It’s a great song and the lyrics are beautiful, but it also sounds too similar to his other material to be one of the best songs on the new album. “Dive” slightly outdoes it; being more

creative and allowing Sheeran a chance to stretch his voice to its limits gives him a more gritty sound than most are used to hearing from him.

“What Do I Know?” is a simple stripped down song that isn’t nearly on par lyrically with the rest of the album, but can still be fun to listen to if you’re looking for a catchy beat. And for some entertaining language, listen to the very British Sheeran sing in Spanish on “Barcelona.” “÷” is a successful return to the music industry for Ed Sheeran, who has faced criticism for becoming too pop-based in the past.

The new album definitely carries some of that pop influence, but it is also a good mix of the acoustic singer-songwriter style that many fans fell in love with in the first place with a completely new sound unique to this era of his career.

B 4 •April 18, 2017

The Chronicle A&E A Poor ‘Fate’ for ‘Furious 8’

“The Fate of the Furious” made $98.8 million domestically during its opening weekend.

By Joseph Burch THE HOFSTRA CRITICS PRESIDENT

Franchise domination is rampant in modern entertainment and the current studio goals have consistently been to top every previous entry. With an endless stream of remakes – such as with Marvel, DC and Star Wars – Hollywood filmmaking has become a dedicated factory of audiencepleasing franchises.

One such film franchise has found recent global success and has managed to surprisingly stay relevant for 16 years, despite its lack of beloved source material or overblown superpowers.

Through a consistency in entertaining absurdity, “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, dedicated to fast cars and familial bonds, has been able to compete on an impressive scale since its 2001 conception.

In 2015, following the death of franchise star Paul Walker, “Furious 7” captured audiences on a global scale, and the film was both a financial and critical success.

With the bar set exceedingly high, “The Fate of the Furious” had both fan expectations and the increasing set-piece irrationality to live up to.

Utilizing a stellar cast and a building momentum, does “The Fate of the Furious” continue the franchise’s entertaining success, or is it another forgettable entry from an unoriginal Hollywood?

The film follows Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel), who is abruptly taken from his honeymoon in Cuba by Cipher (Charlize Theron) to begin stealing global super weapons.

During a confidential electromagnetic pulse device heist orchestrated by Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), Toretto steals the electromagnetic pulse device from his own team and leaves Hobbs behind in the wreckage of his car, shocked and enraged.

With Toretto seemingly going rouge for an unknown cause, his former squad, mostly comprised of Leticia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej Parker (Chris-

topher “Ludacris” Bridges), must come together with Hobbs, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) and the government to stop this villainous force and hopefully save Toretto from himself. With the “Fast and Furious” family going head-to-head, no one can truly win, and the fate of the family – and the world – is at stake.

“The Fate of the Furious” plot is convoluted, unoriginal and uninteresting, especially when compared to the established “Fast and Furious” storyline. At this point, the franchise has gone through so many basic ideas of conflict that this eighth film has been forced to retread some mysterious rogue-related roads, which causes the film to feel overly predictable.

In addition to the repetitive plot points, the film has so many characters simultaneously competing for screen time that it often feels overcrowded and unfocused. With such a large cast, not one character is given enough time to truly shine in the way they did in previous iterations.

Gibson’s Pearce and Ludacris’s Parker, both show-stealers in previous films, feel forgotten in this bloated cast of stars, and their banter throughout the film seems like an afterthought to appease longtime fans.

Likewise, Theron as Cipher is wholly underutilized, with her character merely serving as a throw-away villain who violently types on a computer and calls it “hacking.”

Throughout most of the film, it becomes difficult to find any one character to follow and support other than Diesel’s Toretto.

Sadly, Diesel’s inability to emote makes Toretto the most monotonous character in the entire film, leaving the audience with little to care about for the two-hour runtime Despite the film’s predictability and overcrowding, there is still some unintelligible enjoyment to be found. Fans of the franchise completely understand and accept the secondary nature of the plot, and those who love these films won’t care about Diesel’s lack of talent or the unnecessary inflation of the cast.

To these fans, “Fate’s” plot must only be

was losing steam with its dull plot, there would be a ridiculous action scene like Johnson’s prison break to keep the film going.

Through this hilariously absurd action, “The Fate of the Furious” is able to deliver exactly what fans want, while doing nothing noteworthy to shake up the tired series for the future.

It is a harmless and forgettable continuation that will surely find success among its large fan base and maintain the momentum of its Photo courtesy of ComingSoon.net predecessors, but with a lack of originality and resonance, the film fails to inspire anticipation for what competent in its ability to deliver stunning is to come. and explosive set-pieces, which is truly “The Fate of the Furious” will undoubtthe strongest aspect of these films. In this edly please those that love fast cars, exploregard, “The Fate of the Furious” doubles sions and one-liners, but it does little to down on the ridiculous racing, explosions, bring in a new audience, and the formula fighting and its commitment to cartoonish can only sustain it for so long. action, which is what makes the film even Without any new roads to travel down, remotely watchable.

“The Fate of the Furious” leaves the series There is something incredibly entertainwith a mediocre attempt to prolong the ing about watching a submarine break inevitable death of this franchise. through the ice to send cars flying, and there is something intense about watching hacked self-driving cars smash through New York City. Every time “The Fate of the Furious”

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Editorial

A 12 • april 18, 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.

By Kirnendra Sidhu ASSISTA N T E D I TO R I A L E DI TOR

In Donald Trump’s royal retinue, even the most favored courtier can fall from the king’s favor. Enter Stephen Bannon, a man that seemed to not only take glee in his nefarious reputation as the shadow president of the Trump administration, but has even went so far to compare himself to Thomas Cromwell in the Tudor court. Bannon heralded the alt-right, he brought an antigovernment fringe movement into the mainstream and has become an organizing force for chaos in party politics.

However, his stint as the Prince of Darkness seems to be over – he was recently deposed from the very perch he created himself; Bannon is no longer on the National Security Council.

The rise and fall of Stephen Bannon

The first few moments of Trump’s reign were marked by enough controversy that Bannon almost slithered in unnoticed at meetings that determined the outcome of both intelligence and military matters. Bannon’s undue influence ruffled quite a few feathers, yet he weathered most of the criticism as Trump’s more outlandish appointments stole most of the public ire.

Although a divisive figure, he was given power and prestige and I imagine, much to his delight, was given the official title of chief strategist and unofficial title of the second most powerful man in the world.

Yet Bannon had not learned a crucial lesson from history – what the king giveth he may taketh away. Not even 100 days into Trump’s presidency, his most important advisor was

ousted and a new prince took his place, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Though it was officially reported that this was not a demotion, that Bannon had barely attended meetings and was only there to keep a watchful eye on Michael Flynn, who was previously ousted for his undisclosed Russian associations, the damage was done. The New York Times report insisted that Bannon had threatened to quit if his precious position was stolen from him. Bannon now shares his influence with the muchloathed Kushner, who will handle foreign policy while he handles the domestic side of things.

Can we blame our mad king? After the failure of Trump’s immigration ban, the catastrophe that was his healthcare plan and plummeting poll numbers, perhaps Bannon

was not the evil mastermind we all thought him to be. While proudly declaring that he would “deconstruct the administrative state,” he has instead enabled it. Trump recently has gone on record to downplay Bannon’s role in his presidential win and his influence in the White House; while offering a terse warning, he said in a Post interview, “Steve is a good guy, but I told them to straighten it out or I will.”

Although I once thought Bannon to be the most dangerous man in Washington, I have come to believe that he may be the most inept. Almost all of the executive orders he has helped write have come under heavy criticism from the media and public, and now 65 Democrats have signed a petition to have him removed from the administration. Trump has resorted to surrounding

himself with his own children, blatantly showing his nepotism to the world in the appointing of his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Kushner. Like a modern-day King Henry’s court, he breaks all the rules and Cromwell can only seethe in the corner and mutter about his displeasures.

I feared Bannon because I thought I knew who he was, however, I have come to fear Trump’s new royal court more, precisely because I do not know who Kushner and Ivanka Trump are. Although they were just recently registered as Democrats, they have now taken Bannon’s place as the most important figures in a Republican administration.

I can only watch this palace intrigue from afar, and hope Bannon’s star continues to fall and no one else’s rises.

Trump’s lack of transparency is cause for concern

By Gabriella Ciuffetelli EDITOR I A L E D I TO R

With Tax Day looming, thousands of people took to the streets in protest – demanding that President Trump release his tax returns. These returns would reveal, among other things, any lasting business ties – and subsequent conflicts of interest – the president has, but perhaps more importantly, serve as a symbol of government transparency.

In fact, a lack of transparency has been a continued trend for the administration, with Trump refusing not only to reveal his tax returns, but the record of White House visitors as well.

While the Trump team has continued to act as though the tax returns are no big deal, there is a reason no modern president has been elected without releasing their returns; these, like all forms of government transparency, serve to ensure citizens that their president has

no outstanding business ties to foreign or domestic entities that would jeopardize or influence policy decisions.

This is especially important for someone who is renowned as an international businessman, like Trump. It is crucial to the American free society that the office of the presidency is not used to benefit any particular person or business, especially when it comes to international dealings, as the president tends to have more power in foreign policy decisions. These returns serve as perhaps the only reassurance that foreign interests will not serve to jeopardize the integrity of our nation’s highest office.

In fact, in addition to coming up with various nonsensical reasons for refusing to release these returns (such as an ongoing IRS audit), Trump has spoken out against Tax Day protestors, telling NBC News “the election is over,” as if that dispels him from any obligations regarding

the matter.

The president’s refusal to make White House visitor logs publicly accessible is a similar affront to transparency. Taxpayers deserve to know who is coming and going in and out of the White House and when.

While it may be understandable why the Trump team would make this decision – various members of his administration have been accused of holding inappropriate, and potentially illegal, meetings with foreign politicians – it certainly is not justifiable.

In fact, these accusations – whether they turn out to be founded or not – serve as an added reason as to why the public deserves to know what’s going on in the White House.

The information the public is requesting certainly does not jeopardize national security – which is, of course, one of the reasons governmental information should be withheld – and would serve to restore a long-

deteriorating public faith in the presidency.

Trump has also taken steps to inhibit the media, both by limiting press access (save for a few “friendly” outlets) and actively campaigning against them in his attempts to make the public distrust the fourth estate. Similarly, he has cracked down on social media, banning members of agencies like the EPA or the Interior Department from tweeting, and (at least temporarily) barring the public from accessing one of the few windows they have into the executive branch.

When coupled with the ethical questions surrounding the administration, this lack of transparency becomes all the more startling and, frankly, all the more dangerous. While his daughter Ivanka has, for example, created blind trusts for her business dealings – although these trusts have been scrutinized, as the businesses were handed over to her own family members – it is unclear whether

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or not Trump has done the same.

In regards to foreign policy, the main ethical concern is whether or not Trump has violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause, which dictates that U.S. government officials cannot receive payments from foreign governments, without the consent of Congress. Similarly, people have questioned whether or not the Trump Organization receiving trademarks from the Chinese government violates the Emoluments Cause.

Trump’s lack of transparency runs counter to his campaign promises to disrupt businessas-usual in Washington and become the people’s president. Fulfilling these promises requires transparency – whether it be in the form of tax releases, visitor logs or press access – not more of the mysterious wheeling-and-dealing that politicians have fatigued the American public with for years.

The Chronicle

By Andy Sahadeo

op-ed

april 18, 2017•A 13

Stifling dissent fuels academic ignorance

ASSISTA N T E D I TO R I A L E DI TOR

As evidenced by the world around us, the influence of politics has continued to rear its ugly head into every facet of our lives. One important facet of life that politics has plagued for us all is the classroom.

Whether you’re pro-Trump or not, the issue of politics tends to underscore many intellectual conversations that take place here on our own campus.

While students have always been encouraged to voice their political opinions, there is a fine line that professors must tread when it comes to voicing their opinions. With Hofstra having an evidently more liberal than conservative student body, it has become a hot topic

as to whether or not professors should be allowed to express their political opinions.

With the amount of interconnectivity that our world experiences between social media and the news, the influence of politics is practically inescapable.

Every day there is another headline about a new controversial action taken by President Trump.

With Hofstra’s continuing dedication to cultivating active and responsible citizens in us all, I feel that professors should be allowed to voice their po-

litical opinions, no matter how offensive they may be.

The silencing of professors can prove to be dangerous not only to Hofstra’s reputation,

but also to the student body.

How can this generation be challenged by new thought when the previous generation is suppressed and silenced from speaking their minds? How can Hofstra live up to its reputa-

tion of cultivating excellence if those who are expected to lead can’t speak their minds?

While expressing pro-Trump sentiments at Hofstra isn’t exactly the most popular thing to do, it’s still imperative to throw those ideas in the ether, as it exposes students to new ideas and challenges them to sharpen their wits and strengthen their arguments.

Although it may seem that I’m expressing pro-Trump sentiments, my argument stands for the opposite side of the

political spectrum as well.

While pro-Trump professors should take the time to voice their opinions and explain why they support such a politically controversial man, the predominantly liberal population here at Hofstra also should have the chance to voice their anti-Trump sentiments.

This political cycle has demonstrated how divided as a nation we have become – be it by race, ethnicity or class. As Hofstra welcomes students and professors from all walks of life, it is imperative to conduct these conversations in the classroom to expose not only students, but also professors to opposing sides of the spectrum and potentially reach a middle ground in a nation already divided.

in turn, be educated about the political state of our country.

So if American celebrities want to tweet about their hatred or support for something or someone, they can go right ahead. What I do have an issue with is when celebrities from other countries decide to start getting involved in the conversation.

Take, for example, Patrick Stewart. Stewart is an English actor who began his career in the Royal Shakespeare Company, got his start on television on BBC and was later named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and then knighted.

Despite a few brief stints of living in Los Angeles, Stewart has lived the majority of his life outside of America. Yet on Thursday, he announced that

he was going to be applying for U.S. citizenship in order to “oppose” and “fight” President Trump.

Now, I feel that somebody who is not an American should not be making such strong political statements, especially if they have a large following both inside and outside the U.S. America as a whole has enough division and there are enough people, including celebrities, who are on both sides of the political spectrum. We don’t need foreign celebrities coming in and furthering this divide.

American celebrities didn’t rush to become British citizens when Brexit was happening, and when Theresa May became the prime minister and issued in an entire new cabinet, American celebrities weren’t up in arms on

Twitter.

To become an American citizen because you wish to live in America is also a completely different story than becoming an American citizen simply to oppose a sitting president. To me, the former is effectively the same thing as being somebody who could vote and chose not to, yet protested anyway.

Why is it then that celebrities like Patrick Stewart, J.K. Rowling, Shakira, Andrew Garfield and countless others feel the need to discuss American politics when they do not permanently live in America?

They are not being forced to stay here, they are not being forced to become American citizens and they have more than enough means to leave the U.S. whenever they wish. Yet they

publicly announce their disdain for a president whose executive actions will have little, if any, effect on them.

America is a very unique country; it’s extremely diverse and Trump would not have won if there were not citizens in the United States who genuinely felt he was the best fit for the job. As an outsider, you can look at American politics and think anything you want, but in the end, your opinion doesn’t really matter in a political sense because you cannot vote in our democratic process. You cannot directly create the change that you publicly speak about, so it’s better if you don’t attempt to do so by taking advantage of your fan base.

“While expressing pro-Trump sentiments at Hofstra isn’t exactly the most popular thing to do ... it exposes students to new ideas and challenges them to sharpen their wits and strengthen their arguments.”

Foreign celebrities should step back from US politics

By Erica Brosnan STAFF W R I T E R

California voted Ronald Reagan and then Arnold Schwarzenegger in as their state governor. Clint Eastwood and Scott Baio have given public speeches at the RNC and just recently, Robert Davi could be seen all over the floor of the Conservative Political Action Conference. Meryl Streep openly criticized Donald Trump at the Golden Globes and you can’t read anything about Lena Dunham without hearing her political views.

While I would definitely prefer if celebrities stayed out of politics, you cannot deny that they will get involved. As American citizens, it’s all of our duty to get out and vote and,

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sports

A14• April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Men’s lax unable to hold 7-goal lead in first loss

By Zack Penn STAFF W R I T E R

Hofstra men’s lacrosse dropped its first game of the year Saturday night when Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) foe Drexel University rallied from a seven-goal deficit to win 13-12 at James M. Shuart Stadium.

Hofstra entered the field ranked in the top five teams nationwide by every major NCAA poll as the only remaining undefeated team in Division I, but were upset by a middling CAA squad that took advantage of the Pride’s mistakes in the second half.

Hofstra came out firing in the first half, gaining a 5-0 lead and dominating time of possession.

Ryan Tierney and Jimmy Yanes had a combined seven goals in the first half and the team had built a seemingly insurmountable 9-2 lead by half time.

However, the Drexel Dragons countered in the second half, outscoring the Pride 11-3 the rest of the way.

Head coach Seth Tierney sat with his hand covering his face

for the first 30 seconds of his postgame press conference, staring in disbelief at the statistics of how his team fumbled the game away.

“Obviously a tremendously disappointing loss tonight,” he said.

“At one point, it just felt like we were in quicksand and couldn’t get out of it.”

The Pride fell into a pit of despair in the fourth quarter after being outscored 7-1 by the Dragons.

The Pride had four key penalties late in the game that allowed Drexel to capitalize on man-up chances.

Drexel freshman Reid Bowering scored a career-high five goals, including four in the second half that anchored the Dragons’ comeback bid.

This season, Hofstra has struggled in the fourth quarters of games.

The Pride has been outscored 39-24 in fourth quarters this season, but had always found a way to pull out wins – until Saturday.

Hofstra’s second team AllAmerican goalie Jack Concannon had his worst outing of the

year, allowing a season-high 13 goals while saving six shots.

He only allowed two goals during the first half and looked impressive by collecting five saves.

However, Concannon only had one save for the rest of the contest and gave up 11 goals, looking uncharacteristically frazzled late in the game.

Senior captain Josh Byrne also struggled after scoring the first goal of the day.

He was taken out of the game plan by the extra attention the Drexel defense gave him, and could not get it going when his team needed scores the most.

Byrne had multiple clear looks at the net late in the game with a chance to seal a victory, but his shots misfired as he tried to force things through the tight defense.

Though most everything went wrong in this game – as the Pride were on the wrong side of the scoreboard for the first time all year – a few bright spots came from this contest.

Ryan Tierney had a career day with five goals and has been rounding into form as the season wears on.

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

Ryan Tierney notched five goals Saturday night, bringing his total to 25.

As he is only a freshman, this is a great sign for Hofstra; Tierney has already become one of the best attackers in the NCAA. Yanes also finished with three goals and two assists and has been improving his offensive repertoire week after week.

Allowing such a dramatic comeback was absolutely deflating for the Pride, but the team

will have a chance to regroup, move on and learn from its mistakes.

Hofstra drops to 10-1 (2-1 in CAA) with the loss while Drexel improves to 5-6 (2-1 in CAA).

The Pride will try to bounce back next Saturday at 1 p.m. against the University of Massachusetts.

Foster stays hot as baseball continues cold streak

By Joe Fay A SSISTA N T SPO RTS ED ITO R

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

Steven Foster collected nine hits, boosting his batting average to .377.

The Hofstra baseball team was unable to avoid a sweep in Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the University of Delaware Blue Hens, losing 11-4.

Teddy Cillis had two hits on the day for the Pride, including a three-run bomb over the center field fence.

Steven Foster had another monster game at the plate, lacing two singles and a double to finish the game with three hits.

Foster is now hitting .377 on the season and has 13 hits in the last four games.

David Leiderman has brought his average up to .227 from .191 just a week ago with seven hits during the three-game series this weekend, including two hits for Hofstra on Sunday. Vinnie Costello added the Pride’s other RBI with a double down the left field line in the eighth inning.

John Rooney got the start for Hofstra, laboring through 5.1 innings on the hill. Rooney threw 123 pitches, giving up eight earned runs on eight hits while striking out four and walking five.

John Ryan came on in relief with one out in the sixth inning and successfully worked his way out of Rooney’s jam before giving up two home runs in the seventh, allowing Delaware to push their lead to 11-0.

The Blue Hen batters were all over the Pride pitching staff, clobbering five homers to all parts of the field. By the end of the game, Delaware hitters collected 13 hits and drew seven walks.

Junior outfielder Calvin Scott and senior catcher Brian Mayer led the way for the Blue Hens. Scott tallied three hits and scored twice while Mayer homered twice and drove in four runs.

Rooney took the loss for Hofstra to fall to 2-7 on the year.

The sophomore’s ERA is now a bloated 6.56 to go with a 1.56 WHIP. Matt Weissheier was a bright spot in Hofstra’s rotation. The redshirt junior threw a scoreless eighth inning on just 13 pitches, including a strikeout.

For the Blue Hens, it was Brandon Walter (4-5) on the mound getting the win. The lefthander fired five shutout innings and allowed just five hits.

With the sweep, Hofstra has lost nine of their last 10 games and their record sits at 8-25 (2-7 CAA) while Delaware’s improves to 20-14 (7-5 CAA).

The Pride travels to Manhattan College on Tuesday evening to take on the Jaspers at 6:30 p.m.

Sports

The Chronicle

April 18, 2017•A15

Brazill looms tall as promising young reliever

By Ethan Marshall SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R O NI CL E

Seamus Brazill of Barnegat, New Jersey, may appear like a basketball player with his towering 6-foot-9-inch frame, but when he’s on the pitcher’s mound for the Hofstra baseball team, his true love of baseball shines through.

His love of the game started at the age of seven when his parents signed him up for little league.

“I was so nervous, I didn’t want to do it,” Brazill said. He ultimately found that he enjoyed playing the game and was able to make new friends.

By the age of 10, Brazill switched his focus to pitching and began taking lessons in middle school.

Brazill quickly became his high school baseball team’s best starter.

Colleges caught word of his pitching talent and began attempting to recruit him as early

as his sophomore year. Among the first to reach out to Brazill, was Hofstra head coach John Russo.

Despite first visiting Hofstra on a cold and rainy day, Brazill said he fell in love with the campus. “It seemed very comfortable,” Brazill said.

He also cited Russo as one of the greater influences when deciding on which school to attend, considering the head coach made Brazill feel at home at Hofstra.

Brazill graduated from Barnegat High School in 2015, ranking as the school’s all-time leader in wins and earned run average (ERA).

Though he was a starter in high school, Brazill was put in the bullpen at Hofstra, noting how different it felt to prepare to pitch from the bullpen rather than as a starter.

“The big thing is being ready to go at any given moment,” Brazill said. “I can’t be too relaxed.”

Considering Brazill is a reliever rather than a starter, he is given less time to prepare and doesn’t get to throw as many practice pitches prior to games.

While he would like to be a starter again, Brazill is more than willing to be a reliever if it means helping his team win.

Brazill spent his summer in the Hamptons League focusing on improving his velocity and the quality of his off-speed pitches.

He ended up pitching very well that summer, winning all four starts, with a 0.73 ERA, 38 strikeouts and eight walks in 37 innings pitched.

Brazill’s fastball velocity lies in the lower-to-mid-80s, but he hopes to eventually average in the mid-to-upper-80s.

A goal of Brazill’s is to have a pitching style similar to veteran major leaguer Chris Young, as both have comparable velocities on their pitches.

Like Young, Brazill wants to use his tall frame to get as much

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics

Seamus Brazill has made 16 relief appearances so far this season.

extension toward home plate as possible, which would make an 85 mile-per-hour fastball look more like 95 to the batter.

Whether it’s being a professional ballplayer or pursuing another career, Brazill hopes to have a job that would allow him to be involved in sports in some way.

If Brazill can’t make it as a professional pitcher, he dreams of one day coaching his own baseball travel team as well as having his own indoor training facility. But for now, his current focus is pitching and holding the line for his teammates out of the Hofstra bullpen.

sports

A16• April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

Friscia’s bat holds down middle of the Pride order

By PJ Potter SPORTS E D I TO R

Bounce-back seasons usually come unexpected. However, for a highly-touted recruit like sophomore catcher Vito Friscia, this comes to no surprise.

A .253 hitter his freshman season, the Valley Stream native is currently batting at a .308 clip, which is 27th among all players in the CAA. “The last 16 games, there hasn’t been a better player for Hofstra than Vito Friscia,” said Hofstra head coach John Russo.

Friscia, over his last 16 games, is 21-for-54 (.389) with 11 runs batted in and eight extra-base hits, making him Hofstra’s most complete hitter over this span.

“I’ve been looking to get better pitches to hit. I’ve been working with Coach Russo on the side a lot,” Friscia said.

The All-Long Island honoree came into college as a top recruit.

Recognized by Perfect Game among the top 500 prospects in high school his senior year, Friscia came in as the highest ranked catcher coming out of New York. To stay local, he chose Hofstra.

“It [Hofstra] was always down the block from my house.

I fell in love with the campus and Coach Russo was so real to me. I just couldn’t say no,” Friscia said.

Becoming the hometown hero, Friscia was named the Opening Day starter for the Pride against Texas A&M, where he went 1-for-4.

For the remainder of the year, Friscia was the everyday catcher for Hofstra.

“It showed Coach Russo had a lot of trust in me and it means a lot that he does,” Friscia said.

The 6-foot-3-inch 225-pounder capped his rookie campaign with two home runs, six doubles and 14 RBI. Considering he won the Ninth Annual International Power Showcase home run derby as a senior in high school, which included a ball tracked at 471 feet, his stat line was anticipated to have more eye-pop worthy slugging numbers.

Now, 31 games into his sophomore year, Friscia has surpassed his freshman totals in home runs (3) and runs batted in (15) and has tied the amount of two-baggers (6), placing him second on the team in slugging percentage (.495) and onbase percentage (.400).

He also has a triple this season, which he did not record in 2016.

“He’s been incredible.

I love his energy right now. Every swing he takes we think he’s about to do big things,” Russo said.

The tremendous jump in batting average, however, is not

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

In his sophomore season, Vito Friscia has three home runs, six doubles and 15 runs batted in through 31 games.

necessarily due to his increased power – rather, it has to do with maturing as a college baseball player.

focusing on the big blast,” Friscia said.

This type of mentality has granted him the occupancy of the most feared part of the lineup – the oh-soadmired third spot.

As the middle-man in Russo’s offense, Friscia is riding an eight-game hitting streak, having reached base safely in 17 consecutive games.

Entering the Delaware series, Friscia collected seven runs batted in and seven hits in the previous four games against Towson University and Fairfield University.

“I love his energy right now. Every swing he takes we think he’s about to do big things.”

The big fly will come, but it cannot be forced.

“If there’s a guy in scoring position I have to do the best I can to get him in, rather than

For Friscia, it’s not just his red-hot hitting he hopes to keep alive.

So, what’s next for him here at Hofstra? “[The] goal’s to win the CAA and go to regionals. I want to help take Hofstra to somewhere they’ve never been,” Friscia said.

If the upward trend continues with Friscia’s ability at the plate, the Pride will be in a much better position for a CAA pennant – with the possible brewing of a Hofstra all-time great along the way.

Coming Up Next Week: Features on baseball’s chris hardardt and softball’s megan patierno... and an opinion piece on men’s lacrosse...

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

Friscia, a Long Island native, currently sports a .400 on-base percentage, leading the Pride with 14 walks.

find the issue on shelves april 25th!

Sports

The Chronicle

April 18, 2017•A17

Hofstra Spring Sports Standings Baseball – CAA

Team

Wins

Losses

Win %

1. Northeastern

9

3

.750

2. Elon

8

4

3. Delaware

7

4. Charleston

9. Hofstra

Team

Softball – CAA Wins

Losses

Win %

1. James Madison

10

2

.833

.667

2. UNCW

8

4

.667

5

.583

3. Hofstra

7

4

.636

7

5

.583

4. Elon

7

5

.583

2

7

.222

5. Charleston

6

6

.500

Men’s Lacrosse – Overall Wins

Losses

Win %

1. Hofstra

10

1

.909

2. Towson

7

3

3. Delaware

7

4. Massachusetts

4. Drexel

Team

Team

Women’s Lacrosse – Overall Wins

Losses

Win %

1. Elon

10

5

.667

.700

1. James Madison

10

5

.667

6

.538

3. Towson

9

5

.643

5

6

.455

4. Hofstra

7

6

.538

5

6

.455

4. Delaware

7

6

.538

HOFSTRA ATHLETIC CALENDAR Away

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Home

4/18

4/19

4/20

4/21

4/22

4/23

Baseball

Manhattan - 6:30 p.m.

UNC Wilmington

UNC Wilmington

UNC Wilmington

Elon - 2 & 4:30 p.m.

Elon - 12 p.m.

Softball

- 3 p.m.

Stony Brook - 4 p.m.

Men’s

- 12 p.m.

Massachusetts - 1 p.m

Lacrosse Women’s Lacrosse

- 1 p .m .

William & Mary - 7 p.m.

Elon - 12 p.m.

sports

A18• April 18, 2017

The Chronicle

First annual “Ferriso Classic” to be held on Sunday

Photo courtesy of Greg Stengel

By Kevin Carroll SPORTS E D I TO R

The Hofstra lacrosse community will come together on Sunday, April 23 to honor a fallen teammate, a life cut tragically short in a car accident on New Year’s Day two years ago.

The first annual Joe Ferriso Classic, a benefit in honor of the late member of the Hofstra men’s soccer and lacrosse teams, as well as the Hofstra club lacrosse team, will aim to raise money for a scholarship that Ferriso’s family founded in his memory.

The Ferriso Classic will potentially be the last home game that the club lacrosse team’s current senior class will play at James M. Shuart Stadium, depending on where the team is seeded in the upcoming club lacrosse playoffs.

As this current bunch of seniors is the last group to have gotten the chance to share the field with Ferriso, this event holds a special place in their hearts.

In addition to the festivities on the field, Sunday’s event will also feature a Chinese auction for attending fans and a postgame barbeque sponsored by the NYPD in Ferriso’s honor.

The seniors, as well as the rest of the Hofstra lacrosse fam-

ily, hope that Sunday’s Classic will be the first of many tributes to a young man who meant just as much to his friends and family off the field as he did to his teammates and coaches on it.

“We wanted to make sure that Joe’s legacy was left intact, and everyone remembered what a great person he was and what he meant to this program,” said Greg Stengel, a senior on the club team and one of Ferriso’s former teammates.

Ferriso was a member of the club lacrosse team in his freshman year as a defender.

During his stint with the club team, many of his teammates noted that he was a terrific teammate and often the best player on the field.

“He would do whatever it took to get the team the win — he was an ideal teammate,” Stengel said. “We all knew he was by far the best player on our team, but you couldn’t tell by talking to him.”

His talent wasn’t just contained to the confines of Shuart Stadium, however. Ferriso was also an excellent soccer player coming out of Kellenberg Memorial High School, and as a freshman he tried out for the Division I program at Hofstra.

Although unsuccessful in his attempt to walk on to the team, he trained with the Hofstra soccer squad throughout his freshman year.

“If we ever feel tired or gassed on the field, we just remember that we’re playing for somebody upstairs.”

It was that drive, that infallible determination, that stuck out in the mind of Ferriso’s teammates.

Ferriso’s perseverance would reward him in the form of a spot on the D-I lacrosse team after just one season with the club team. In a true testament to the kind of character Ferriso was, his teammates were ecstatic for him to get the call.

“I felt extremely proud of him. I was so happy for him,” Stengel said.

But Ferriso was so much more than just your stereotypical athlete. He was an exemplary student, graduating from high school with perfect attendance while also on the honor roll. He was an Eagle Scout and could play the French horn better than just about anybody. In fact, if Ferriso didn’t choose to pursue his athletic dreams at Hofstra, he could have made it just about anywhere with the strength of his musical skills.

But perhaps above all, Ferriso was a loving son and a friend to many, not just his lacrosse teammates, but a friend to anyone who found themselves in need of one.

“Anytime you needed anything from somebody, Joe was the first guy you’d call,” said Martin Beer, another of Ferriso’s teammates.

Tickets are on sale all this week in the Student Center for $5 with all proceeds going towards the Joe Ferriso Schol-

arship Fund. Additional donations may be made as well. For campus organizations looking to represent themselves at the Classic, a $100 cover charge will grant access, and club members participating may wear their club T-shirts in lieu of a ticket. The organization that brings the most members on Sunday will receive a $100 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory.

While Ferriso’s familiar No. 36 may not be roaming the field at Shuart Stadium, his presence is still quite prevalent in the Hofstra locker room. His family still comes to as many home games as they can, and Ferriso’s teammates note that Ferriso’s family possess many of the same character traits that defined him.

The helmets of every Hofstra lacrosse player are adorned with “JF #36” stickers, and many players got tattoos to commemorate their lost teammate, friend and brother. If you ask the team as it prepares to commemorate Ferriso’s wonderful life on Sunday, Ferriso’s never too far away.

“Even though he left us, I think that Joe brought our senior class even closer together,” Stengel said.

“If we ever feel tired or gassed on the field, we just remember that we’re playing for somebody upstairs.”

Check Out Our Website: http://thehofstrachronicle.com/category/sports Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics

Sports

The Chronicle

April 18, 2017•A19

Late-inning heroics lift softball to sweep vs. UNCW

By PJ Potter

ball over the left field fence to give her team insurance heading SPORTS E D I TO R to the final frame for UNCW. Lacey Clark’s late three-run Clark finished 2-for-4 Sunday, home run helped Hofstra softball raising her batting average to complete a CAA sweep over over .300 after entering the game UNC Wilmington (UNCW) with with a 2-for-17 skid the past five a 4-0 victory Sunday afternoon games. in North Carolina, improving Freshman Sarah Cornell to 7-4 in CAA play and 18-17 snagged her 14th win of the year overall. in Sunday’s matchup, tossing 6.1 “She had the right pitch and shutout innings with three strikethe right opportunity. It was outs, three walks and six hits. great to see her get a hold of “Cornell threw an unbelievthat,” said Hofstra head coach able game,” Anderson said.

Larissa Anderson. “[She] hit key spots to both Clark’s sixth home run of the sides of the plate. [She] really season came in the top of the did an unbelievable job keeping seventh inning with the Pride them off balanced.” clenching on to a close 1-0 Cornell appeared in all three lead – a run scored earlier in the games this series, collecting two inning by Kristin Hallam on a wins in the process. wild pitch.

In 16.1 innings this weekend, UNCW starter Peyton Jordan she allowed just one earned run, had a 1-2 count on Clark, but which has dropped her season the Hofstra second baseman had earned run average to 2.98. other ideas despite being down She, however, did not finish in the count. the game Sunday.

The senior turned on Jordan’s Alyssa Irons came in to relieve screwball and smacked a high fly for Hofstra in the home half

of the seventh inning in a very dicey situation.

The Seahawks began the inning having reached base on back-to-back errors from the Pride, followed by a bunt single two batters later.

With one out and the bases loaded, freshman Irons replaced Cornell in a make-or-break nailbiting spot.

Building up anticipation at Boseman Field, the first pitch she threw missed the strike zone for a ball.

Irons quickly adjusted, however, and got Merritt Wilkinson to fly out in the infield, keeping all baserunners at bay.

Then, with two outs, Irons managed to get Lauren Moore to do the same as her teammate in the previous at-bat, an infield pop out – this one to end the game.

“I have complete confidence in her, putting her in a situation with the bases loaded,” Anderson said.

Hofstra compiled six hits in

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

Sarah Cornell notched her 14th win of the season Sunday afternoon.

the game. Clark and Hallam had two hits while Brielle Pietrafesa and Brittany Allocca logged one each.

The Seahawks also put together six hits in the box score.

Nine hitter Kelsey Bryan finished 3-for-3 while Wilkinson, Moore and Nella Chamblee each

picked up one hit.

Hofstra returns to action April 19 in a mid-week tune-up against Stony Brook University at Bill Edwards Stadium before a threegame set against Elon University this weekend. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. vs. the Seawolves.

Women’s lacrosse takes down No. 13 Towson

By Anders Jorstad STAFF W R I T E R

The Hofstra Pride women’s lacrosse team shocked the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) on Easter Sunday with a critical 17-15 victory over the Towson University Tigers,

ranked No. 13 in the nation.

Hofstra has not beaten a team ranked higher since 2010 when it bested a No. 8 Towson team.

“Our kids played with incredible heart out there all game long,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.

“They fought for a full 60

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle

Midfielder Drew Shapiro netted five goals in Sunday’s win over Towson.

minutes against a very good Towson team.”

Hofstra had been able to put together good stretches against ranked teams in the past.

The Pride took the lead against top-ranked Maryland and No. 17 James Madison University earlier this season.

Hofstra fought tick-for-tack against those teams for at least 10 minutes apiece. Until today, Hofstra was never able to put it all together for a whole game.

Hofstra looked to be on the verge of another blowout loss when Towson jumped ahead 4-0 at the beginning of the game.

But the Pride fought back and played evenly for the rest of the half, heading to the locker room trailing 11-7.

It should have been a 10-7 game, but Carly Tellekamp scored on a fast break with just three seconds left in the half, noticeably frustrating the Pride.

“We were kind of mad about it,” Smith said.

“We were mad that the goal went in. We used that energy in the second half.”

Hofstra’s intensity improved

tremendously in the second half.

Hofstra scored eight of the first nine scores in the latter frame, giving Hofstra a 15-12 lead it wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game.

“Our focus level [changed in the second half],” Smith said.

“We came out really confident and playing with a chip on our shoulder.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Fields and the entire Pride defense had a wonderful performance.

Defense has been Hofstra’s Achilles’ heel all season.

Fields made some key saves, including two in Towson’s final possession with the game still on the line. Fields finished with 10 saves.

Hofstra held the conference’s best offense to just 15 goals after allowing 17 in its previous two games to University of Delaware and James Madison.

The Pride defense has been hot-and-cold all season.

Although the team allowed 15 goals, the defensive unit gave up just four scores in the second half.

On offense, Alyssa Parrella led a squad that had no trouble breaking down the Tigers’ defense in the second half.

Parrella had six scores while junior midfielder Drew Shapiro added five and senior Becky Conto had three.

The Pride are now 1-3 in the CAA and looks to add its second win when it faces off against the College of William & Mary on Friday, April 21. Hofstra recorded its lone CAA win last year against the Tribe.

“This is a huge confidence booster,” Parrella said. “At this point, I don’t think anybody on our team thinks anybody can stop us.”

Back Cover: Lacey Clark’s timely home run leads softball to sweep of UNCW

T h e H of s t r a C h r on i c l e

Sports

April 18, 2017

Read it and Sweep Lacey Clark crushes three-run home run vs.

UNCW to help complete CAA sweep

Cam Keough / Hofstra Chronicle