The Hofstra Chronicle, May 9, 2023

THE HOFSTRA CHRONICLE

KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935

Brad Camarda makes history by throwing third no-hitter in program history

play. The Hawks drop to 15-23 overall with a CAA record of 5-15. Monmouth still leads the all-time series between the two schools, 10-5-1.

center field for an RBI double that drove in Bruggeman and Steve Harrington.

By Josh Sager STAFF WRITER

History was made for the Hofstra University baseball team on Friday, May 5, as Brad Camarda threw the third nohitter game in program history, leading the Pride to a 7-1 win over the Monmouth University Hawks. Hofstra moves to 21-23 overall and 11-13 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)

Camarda picked up his fifth win of the season with the no-hitter, striking out eight Hawks, walking two and giving up one unearned run. Monmouth’s Dante Ciaramella took his fourth loss of 2023 after giving up seven earned runs in five innings, striking out four and walking three.

Kevin Bruggeman loaded the bases with a double in the first inning with one out, extending his hit streak to eight games.

Designated hitter Nick Marrero gave the Pride a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Santino Rosso. Hofstra added two more runs when Ryan Morash hit a 1-2 pitch to right

Up 3-0 in the top of the third inning, Morash hit a triple to center field to make the score 5-0 Hofstra.

The Pride did the last of their damage in the top of the fourth inning, starting with Bruggeman’s single to left center field that scored Dylan Palmer. It reached 7-0 during Harrington’s third at-bat as Ciaramella balked to bring Rosso in to score.

Monmouth’s only run started when Austin Denlinger reached first base on a fielding error by Morash at third base. Denlinger advanced to second base on a wild pitch and then to third on a groundout. James Harmstead brought the run in on a sacrifice fly to left field, putting the home team on the board.

That run was the last threat Monmouth created until the

Non-student lurks around Monroe Hall

him, but he didn’t care,” said Daniela Macias, a sophomore music business major. “I was scared he’d hurt me if I told him to stop following me.”

bottom of the ninth inning. Camarda had four straight 1-2-3 innings, getting half of his eight strikeouts during that stretch.

In the bottom of the ninth, pitching from a 1-2 count, Camarda caused Nick Czarnecki to whiff for the first out and strikeout number eight on the day. In another 1-2 count, Camarda threw a fastball up high that was popped up by Eric Sabato and caught by Morash for out number two.

After Denlinger reached on a fielding error and Stahl walked, Camarda delt an 0-1 fastball that was popped up. Three Hofstra fielders were chasing after it, but it was Anthony D’Onofrio in left field who caught it to put Camarda in the Hofstra history books.

As soon as D’Onofrio caught the final out, Bruggeman gave Camarda a massive bear hug before his teammates came out

of the dugout to mob him. Other than Camarda, strong performances were seen from Bruggeman, Morash and Palmer. With this performance, Camarda joins Seamus Brazill and John Rooney as the only Hofstra pitchers to throw a no-hitter. Camarda also joins Brazill as one of only two pitchers to throw a solo nohitter.

Farewell, ‘Picard’

a doubt, the series brought “Star Trek” back to its best in over 20 years.

By Lily Spinda

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

A source has asked to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety. The pseudonym Brandon will be used.

Hofstra’s Public Safety team received at least two separate calls reporting a man harassing

students on the south side of campus on Thursday, April 27, around 8:25 p.m. The reports described a man, allegedly named James, following and harassing students in and around studio rooms in Monroe Hall.

“I kept trying to make it clear that I didn’t want to speak to

Macias recalled the man grabbing her hand on the Unispan while she headed toward the north side of campus. He asked her several questions about herself, including where she lived on campus and if she had any friends. According to Macias, she spoke shortly with him, yet he continued to follow her from Starbucks into a studio in Monroe Hall.

“He asked me if I do psychedelics and smoke weed,” Macias said. “He kept asking me to go off campus with him.”

By Mac Sykes ASSISTANT ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

On April 20, the third and final season of “Star Trek: Picard” concluded on Paramount+ in a triumphant finale that rocked audiences to their core. Without

Following the mixed negative reception of the last two seasons from audiences, along with previous showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman departing to work on their own “Star Trek” projects, Terry Matalas, former production associate of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and writer of “Star Trek: Enterprise,” was brought on board to write Season 3. It is clear that this is a finale that was written by the fans, for the fans.

Camarda also leads the CAA in complete games with three this season.

There was a man harassing students on the south side of campus near Monroe Hall. The series originally streamed on CBS All Access, which became Paramount+.

Photo courtesy of Connor Graf / Hofstra Athletics

Lily Spinda / The Hofstra Chronicle

Photo courtesy of People

Senior send-off: The Chronicle is more than a paper; it’s a family

closer to finding a group that made me want to stay.

Room 203 in the student center became more like a second home than an office, and the news section became a second family. I could use this space to talk about myself, but I’d rather write about the people who had an impact on me and made my experience unforgettable.

By Megan Naftali NEWS EDITOR

When I first came to Hofstra, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. In many ways, I’m still trying to figure that out. During my first semester, I joined various clubs and organizations, and I started to think I had commitment issues because I always left after a few weeks. When I changed my major to journalism during my sophomore year, I didn’t realize it would bring me one step

To my partner in crime, Ahjané Forbes, I will never forget the countless memories we have made. You are so much more than my best friend; you are my sister. You always lift me up when I’m down, and if you ever worry that no one sees you for the amazing person you are, know that I see it in you. You are so bright and funny, and you have a great career and life ahead of you. I look forward to all the memories we’ll make once you (hopefully) move closer.

To my strong friend, Madeline Armstrong, if you ever doubt yourself, don’t. I don’t think you realize how impressive

you are. I will cherish all the memories we made, from going to Washington, D.C., to speak at Media Fest all the way to decorating potatoes for six hours as a practical joke on the rest of the Chronicle e-board. I can’t wait to hear about all of your upcoming achievements because I know there will be many, and I will be proud of you every step of the way.

To the very sweet Moriah Sukhlal, having you in the news section has been such a breath of fresh air. You have a kindness that I haven’t seen in many people. I have watched you grow into such a great editor, and I have no doubt that I am leaving our section in good hands. I will be there for you if you ever need help or someone to lean on.

To Lily Spinda, you have brought such a fun energy that the Chronicle needed. Even though you just started, I sense you’ll flourish here, and one day, you’ll be an amazing editor too. I look forward to hearing about what you do in the future.

To the rest of the Chronicle staff, thank you for making it

such a welcoming place. Working with you all has been such an honor, and I will miss it every day.

To my professors at Hofstra University, especially Scott Brinton, Richard Himelfarb and Carol Fletcher, you have done so much for me; words cannot describe how much I appreciate you. I owe you all so much for seeing my potential and wanting the best for me. No matter where I go or what I end up doing, I will never forget it, and I will carry it with me.

Most importantly, to my mother, who just passed away, thank you for supporting me and believing in me always. I truly owe you everything because I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. I never imagined losing you so soon, and I can’t picture my life without you, but I was lucky enough to have had 21 years with the most beautiful person inside and out. You lived your life trying to help others, and I will live the rest of mine trying to do the same. You were my best friend, and I will love you forever.

Senior send-off: InDesign queen retires

have prepared me for this moment. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge all that The Hofstra Chronicle has given me.

found my place in the news section. I am so grateful to those who came before me for welcoming me with open arms into what can be an intense and challenging section to write for.

of cookies, Taylor Swift and lots of laughter until the early hours of the morning.

By Madeline Armstrong

NEWS EDITOR

As I am graduating, Hofstra, as well as the School of Communications and its professors,

When I walked into the Chronicle office as a freshman interested in writing for Arts and Entertainment, I had no idea how this paper would impact my life. I wrote for multiple sections but

I learned so much about reporting and writing for a newspaper during those first couple of years and was thrilled to join e-board as a news editor my junior year. Being an editor is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done – it takes a lot of patience, diligence and hard work, but it has strengthened my reporting and writing skills more than anything I could have ever imagined.

In this position, I met the love of my life – InDesign (sorry, Jacob) – and some of my best friends. The community at the Chronicle is collaborative, supportive and fun. I will miss layout nights with absurd amounts

The Hofstra Chronicle gave me a community where I belonged and a jumping-off point to begin my career as a journalist. I will truly miss investigating controversial topics on Hofstra’s campus and, to be frank, pissing people off with my work.

Never let yourself be silenced. Never stop asking questions. Never stop pushing buttons. Thank you to everyone at The Hofstra Chronicle for giving me a chance when I was a wideeyed newbie and for supporting me throughout my time at Hofstra.

Sayonara, Sammy.

Jacob Lewis / The Hofstra Chronicle

Megan Naftali / The Hofstra Chronicle

West Papua and the struggle for freedom

place on Wednesday, April 26, in Davison Hall, where students and event coordinator Timothy P. Daniels, an associate professor of anthropology, gathered to hear Anari’s presentation.

The WPLO leader started his presentation by sharing how he started to gain interest in the freedom movement of West Papua during his time at the University of Science and Technology in Japura, West Papua. There, Anari started forming small groups to fight for the freedom of his people.

By Xiomara Trinidad Perez

SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

John Anari, a leader of the West Papuan Liberation Organization (WPLO), visited

Hofstra University to talk about his fight for the independence of West Papua from the Indonesian government, as well as the island’s history with colonialism. The presentation took

Anari is now living in exile in the U.S. after the Indonesian government tried to imprison him for his many liberation movements and protests. Here, he found the opportunity to have his voice heard. Every year,

Senior send-off: Roll Pride!

By Annabel Hofmann COPY CHIEF

Well. It’s time. How can it possibly be time? Even as I’m doing all the senior-y things like picking up my cap and gown, planning for my future or writing this damn senior send-off, it doesn’t feel real.

Out of all my decisions at Hofstra, the one to join the Chronicle made the most difference in my life. My story at Hofstra was one of not knowing quite where I belonged. Sure, I had the soccer team, but that was about the only thing I was certain of.

I changed my major three times, never quite feeling like I belonged in any of them. But eventually, I found journalism and that led me to the Chronicle. I will admit that in the beginning, I still wasn’t sure I belonged. Everyone in the School of Comm had so much experience with their school newspaper or radio station or whatever, and they all knew exactly what they wanted to do – or at least that’s what it felt like to me.

Enter the Chronicle. I am still not super sure what possessed me to apply for assistant copy chief, but boy, am I glad I did.

I have never met a group of people more welcoming, enthusiastic and fun to be around.

I remember my first layout – I was a little nervous because I didn’t know anyone in the room or what was even going on –and Jacob made fun of me for asking how we would print a

hyperlink. To be fair, that was a stupid question.

From that layout on, I never felt out of place again. The Chron office was one place I knew I belonged. Monday nights became one of my favorite nights – even though sometimes I was violently hungover from a Sunday night out.

So, you all deserve the biggest thank you of my Hofstra career. Thank you for helping me feel at home at this school, showing me there’s more out there than athletics and just being your hilarious, awesome selves. I am going to miss arguing with Nell over how to format Season 1 or song or band titles. I am going to miss being forced to accept a ride home from Julia and Antonia. I am going to miss wearing the same green sweatshirt every week and just pretending it fits the theme. I am going to miss the endless InDesign struggles, delicious snacks and hysterical laughs. In short, I am going to miss the Chronicle with all my heart.

Peace out, Hofstra, and in the famous words of my friend Tennis Ryan: Roll Pride.

Information compiled by Lily Spinda Graphic by Megan Naftali

Students listened to West Papuan Liberation Organization leader John Anari discuss West Papua’s struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Photo courtesy of John Anari

Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle

Public Safety receives multiple reports of harassment

CONTINUED FROM A1

“He obviously didn’t go here, even though he told me he was a freshman,” Macias said. “He kept asking me about stuff students would know, like what time the buildings were open and closed and if anyone had access to them or if they needed an ID.”

After being followed across campus, Macias texted her friend, Yukana Hirasawa, who waited for her in Monroe Hall. She warned Hirasawa that someone was following her into Monroe Hall and wouldn’t leave her alone.

“I opened the door, and then I saw the guy’s face, and I was like, ‘That’s the same guy that approached me earlier. This is awkward,’” said Hirasawa, a graduate music business major.

Hirasawa said that the same man approached her on the Unispan hours before the incident with Macias. He asked if there were any bathrooms, and after she directed him to the

closest bathroom in the library, the man ran in the opposite direction.

“He said he was from Hofstra, but then a few seconds later, he said he’s visiting his friend who goes to Hofstra,” Hirasawa said.

When Macias arrived at Monroe Hall and she and Hirasawa realized the man left in the opposite direction of the exit, they called Public Safety.

After leaving Macias and Hirasawa’s room, the man allegedly entered another studio room where a student named Brandon and his band were rehearsing.

“He asked, ‘What’s going on here?’ and ‘Can I join?’” Brandon said. “I’m just like, this is weird because the [music students] that use the building understand that when you’re rehearsing, you need your pri-

vacy.”

Brandon asked the man what his major or grade was. “He couldn’t look me in the face while answering these questions,” Brandon said. Soon after, he noticed faded tattoos of Roman numerals on his knuckles that led him to believe the man wasn’t an incoming freshman like he claimed.

Brandon asked the man what year his graduating class was. He told Brandon “this year” and later bactracked and said he was graduating next semester, according to Brandon.

“I did give him the option of where to sit, but he chose to sit by one of my [female] friends playing the piano,” Brandon said.

Brandon recalled feeling scared and unsure if he should tell the man to leave. “I didn’t want to tell him to leave. Because what if he doesn’t want to leave?” Brandon said.

Minutes after the man sat with Brandon and his friends, Brandon left the studio to call Public Safety. Public Safety responded and searched Monroe Hall for the man. Afterward, Macias and Hirasawa filed an incident report.

“Public Safety received a report at about 8:25 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, that a man was attempting to engage with students, claiming to be a firstyear student,” read a statement from Jovanni Ortiz, manager of community engagement and transportation at Public Safety. “Officers found him near the

Monroe Lecture Center on the South Campus, determined he was not a student and detained him at the Hofstra Information Center until Nassau County Police arrived. The man was banned from campus, and he will be arrested if he returns.”

The man resisted removal from campus and did not cooperate with Public Safety officers, which prompted the arrival of Nassau County Police, according to Public Safety officials.

The incident has impacted Macias’ behavior on campus.

“I definitely used to feel safe walking alone at night on campus, but I don’t anymore,” Macias said. “I’m a lot more careful about where I’m going on campus and a lot more aware of my surroundings even during the daytime. I think we just have to hope it doesn’t happen again.”

“He didn’t actually do something to us, so I’m not traumatized or anything,” Hirasawa said. “But it reminded me that literally anyone can come on this campus, so it’s not completely safe even though it’s on campus.”

Public Safety encouraged everyone with any information regarding harassment, including but not limited to this incident, to contact them.

“I’m not traumatized or anything, but it reminded me that literally anyone can come on this campus, so it’s not completely safe even though it’s on campus.”

Multiple students reported to Public Safety that a strange man was following them and harassing them on the south side of campus near Monroe Hall.

Photo courtesy of Yuan Thirdy

Hofstra students discuss West Papua’s independence

CONTINUED FROM A3

Anari has been invited to the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters to speak on behalf of the indigenous Papuans.

“I don’t care about my life,” Anari said. “I don’t care about the endangerment of my life because I know I fight for the truth. As the Bible says, ‘If you know the truth, the truth will set you free.’”

As Anari told students, West Papua was colonized by the Netherlands in 1898 but obtained its independence from the Dutch government in 1961. However, the Papuan independence did not last long. On Dec. 19, 1961, the Indonesian military declared Operation Trikora

and invaded and colonized West Papua.

The leader of WPLO proceeded to show images of protests and forces that the native Papuans formed to resist the invasion. However, their resistance was unsuccessful. In 1962, a treaty sponsored by the U.N. known as the New York Agreement was put in place to end this conflict, which gave Indonesia temporary administration of West Papua.

One of the requirements of the treaty was that all West Papuans should be allowed to vote in a referendum for independence. However, according to The Guardian, when the ballot was held in 1969, the Indonesian military picked “1,026 leaders

to vote on behalf of the entire population and threatened to kill them and their families if they voted the wrong way.”

Anari referred to it as a “fake referendum,” as it was never officially agreed to by the Papuans. He is currently working on a draft that might put an end to this referendum. All he needs is a sponsor.

During his presentation, students were moved and shocked by Anari’s telling. One of those students was freshman electrical engineering major Ashton Edouard.

“When I first came here, I only came here for extra credit,” Edouard said. “But when [Anari] started breaking down a bit while presenting his presenta-

tion, it kind of dragged me in a little bit because it showed how much he really cared for his fight for freedom.”

“I found it very interesting,” said Sofia Jacubowicz, a sophomore criminology major. “I thought it was very informative.”

“While focusing on Blackness in parts of Southeast Asia, and in the process of doing my personal research, I’ve made relationships with many Papuans,” Daniels said. “A couple of years ago, I made my first connection with [Anari]. We’ve remained friends and in communication.”

When Daniels was informed that Anari was traveling to New York City for his yearly work with the U.N., he thought it was

a prime opportunity for Anari to speak with his students.

“I thought it was just an excellent occasion for him to come and enrich the student’s knowledge about the background of his movement and about the condition of Papuans,” Daniels said.

Anari does have family and friends back in West Papua, but the control of the Indonesian government over his island stops him from going back.

“Some of my family and friends ... they don’t want me to come back because of the danger,” Anari said. “But me, I’d like to come back to fight. But for now, I’ll focus on diplomacy.”

responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

Public Safety Briefs

Compiled by Moriah Sukhlal

student was issued a referral to CS for the actions of their guest.

was met with negative results.

Key:

On April 8, at 4 a.m., the RSR working in Bill of Rights Hall reported to PS that two HU students and a non-student failed to comply with Hofstra guest policy and verbally harassed the RSR. The non-student was banned from campus, and the two students were issued referrals to CS for their actions.

PS - Public Safety

CS - Community Standards

HU - Hofstra University

RSR - Resident Safety Representative

NCPD – Nassau County Police Department

HFD - Hempstead Fire Department

UFD - Uniondale Fire Department

On Sunday, April 23, at 7:51 p.m., the fire alarm in Bill of Rights was activated due to haircare products. The fire alarm sounded and the building was evacuated. PS, Plant and UFD responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On Sunday, April 30, at 2:20 a.m., while on routine patrol, PS observed a white Nissan driving recklessly in the east side of the HofUSA parking lot. The driver of the vehicle was identified as a Hofstra student and was issued a referral to CS for their actions.

On April 8, at 11:14 p.m., the RA in Utrecht House reported to PS that, while conducting rounds, there were loud noises coming from a room. PS responded and discovered open bottles of alc

PS, Plant and UFD responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On April 14, at 5:25 p.m., the fire alarm in Hampton House was activated due to burnt food in the kitchen. The alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, the plant department and the Uniondale Fire Department responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On Monday, May 1, at 3:13 P.M., the fire alarm in Weller Hall was activated due to perfume. The fire alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, Plant and the HFD responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On April 8, at 4 a.m., the RSR working in Bill of Rights Hall reported to PS that two HU students and a non-student failed to comply with Hofstra guest policy and verbally harassed the RSR. The nonstudent was banned from campus, and the two students were issued referrals to CS for their actions.

alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. Public safety, Plant and UFD responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On Monday, April 24, at 11:00 a.m., a Hofstra student reported to PS that a vehicle hit their car and caused damage while trying to park. The vehicle then left the scene. The student was able to get the plate number of the vehicle. NCPD responded and took a report.

On Wednesday, May 3, at 1:00 p.m., the fire alarm in the Netherlands Core activated due to the smoke detector in the men’s bathroom. The fire alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, Plant and UFD responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On April 15, at 10:19 a.m., the fire alarm in New York House was activated due to burnt food in the kitchen. The alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, the plant department and the Uniondale Fire Department responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

On Saturday, May 6, at 10:35 p.m., the RSR working in Alliance Hall reported to PS that they observed a Hofstra student using a fraudulent copy of a security protocol card from the RSR office to try and gain entry into the building. The student was issued a referral to CS for their actions.

On April 15, at 6:53 p.m., an HU student reported to PS that they lost their wallet containing their driver’s license, Hofstra ID, debit card and cash. The wallet was lost in a location off campus. The NCPD responded and took a report.

On April 8, at 11:14 p.m., the RA in Utrecht House reported to PS that, while conducting rounds, there were loud noises coming from a room. PS responded and discovered open bottles of alcohol. Six students were issued referrals to CS.

On Friday, April 21, at 9:36 p.m., a HU bus driver observed a vehicle stopped in the left turning lane by the Saltzman gate entrance. The occupants of the vehicle put a Hofstra admission sign in their vehicle and fled westbound on Hempstead Turnpike. A search of the area was met with negative results.

On Wednesday, April 26, at 4:00 p.m., a Hofstra student reported to PS that they parked their vehicle in the parking lot by CV Starr around 9 a.m. Upon return, the student discovered that their rear window was broken. Police assistance was declined at the time.

On April 11, at 10:20 a.m., an HU plant employee reported to PS that he accidentally damaged a vehicle owned by another Hofstra employee on Holland Road while working on the main campus. The owner of the vehicle was notified about the damage and responded to PS.

On Tuesday, May 2, at 11:35 a.m., a Hofstra student reported to PS that while turning into a parking spot in the parking field west of Breslin Hall, their vehicle struck the right rear tire of a parked vehicle. The first vehicle sustained damage to the front bumper. The parked vehicle had no damage. Police assistance was declined at the time.

On April 16, at 9:44 a.m., an HU student reported to PS that some of their laundry was missing from the laundry room in Alliance Hall. The student requested a police response.

On Thursday, May 4, at 11:25 a.m., a Hofstra student reported to PS that while making a right turn in the parking lot off Belmont Place, their vehicle struck the entrance gate. The gate had minor damage, and the vehicle sustained damage to the front bumper. Police assistance was declined at the time.

On April 16, at 10:26 p.m., an HU student was issued a referral to CS for swiping an unknown person into Netherlands South.

On Saturday, April 22, at 6:40 a.m., while on routine patrol, PS discovered a non-student sleeping in the Nassau Hall lounge. The non-student was a guest of a Hofstra student. The

On Friday, April 28, at 12:01 p.m., a Hofstra athletic staff member reported to PS that property had been removed from the press box area of the softball stadium. A search of the area

On April 11, at 2:18 p.m., it was reported to PS that an unknown person wrote messages in chalk on the sidewalk on the south side of Hofstra Hall. Photos were taken of the graffiti, and an investigation is being conducted into this matter. The plant department was notified for cleanup.

On Tuesday, May 2, at 8:16 p.m., the fire alarm at Stuyvesant Hall was activated due to a smoke detector in the first-floor kitchen. The fire alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated.

On April 12, at 9:50 p.m., the fire alarm in Estabrook Hall was activated due to hair care products. The alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, the plant department and the Uniondale Fire Department

On Friday, May 5, at 11:20 a.m., a Hofstra student reported to PS that while backing out of a parking spot in Parking Field 2C, their vehicle struck another parked vehicle. Police assistance was declined at the time.

On Sunday, May 7, at 2:44 p.m., PS responded to a fire alarm activation at Rensselaer House. Upon arrival, it was found that the alarm was triggered by smoke in a garbage caused by a fire being put out with water. The UFD responded to the location.

On April 17, at 9 a.m., an HU student reported to PS that an unknown vehicle struck their vehicle in the law school parking lot. The student had a dashcam video, and the Hempstead police responded and took a report.

On April 18, at 4:08 p.m., an HU student was issued a referral to CS for giving their Hofstra ID to a non-student so they could enter Colonial Square East.

On Saturday, May 6, at 2:20 a.m., the fire alarm of Bill of Rights Hall was activated due to an unknown condition. The fire

On Sunday, May 7, at 12:17 a.m., while on routine patrol, PS observed a white vehicle speeding southbound on Hofstra Boulevard from Colonial Square. A Hofstra student was identified as the driver of the vehicle and was issued a referral to CS for their actions.

On April 18, at 10:40 p.m., the fire alarm in Bill of Rights Hall was activated due to hair care products. The alarm sounded, and the building was evacuated. PS, the plant department and the Uniondale Fire Department responded to the location. The situation was corrected, and the fire

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SUMMER!

Stay on track for graduation during Summer Sessions 2023:

• Session I: May 24 - June 28

• Session II: June 29 - August 3

• Session III: August 7-25

Each session offers a wide-range of undergraduate and graduate courses – now offered in-person and online – for continuing Hofstra students. Many classes even fulfill distribution requirements!

REGISTRATION

Chron Critiques: Pazza Notte

By Zoe Casselman ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

The first time I stumbled across Pazza Notte was purely by chance. My friends and I had just spent the afternoon at the MoMA and were searching for relatively inexpensive restaurants in the area. We walked around Midtown Manhattan for a little while, and after viewing the menu outside, we were sold. The exterior is warm and inviting, surrounded by a few outdoor seating options for nicer weather.

The restaurant was packed, which was understandable for a Saturday evening. Our wait was estimated to be just over half an hour, which is not bad, but Pazza Notte’s waiting system is not ideal. As a self-described “walkin friendly restaurant,” not only do they not take reservations, but there is no designated wait area, so patrons are forced to cluster awkwardly at the front of the restaurant and around the bar. Additionally, when a more significant number of guests are waiting, the space can become increasingly cramped and hard to navigate for customers and staff alike.

Guests cannot leave the restaurant and come back either. Once you agree to wait, a host will

By Aidan Judge

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

high heels, dry eyes

cigarette smoke in july

and your heart has a new beat i watch it writhe until it dies rough palms, bare feet no sense in vulnerability when a twirl is a spin into a haze you love me like fronds love winter nights

graphite gently fading from the scroll

hand you a card with a number on it, and the only way to be notified that your table is ready is to listen for your number to be called. However, I only had this problem my first time attending Pazza Notte. During my other two visits, my party and I were seated within a few minutes of arriving.

The process of ordering and receiving your food is swift, even if every chair in the restaurant is full. Almost immediately after a host guides you to your table, a waiter comes by to take drink orders and bring delectable fresh, warm bread and herb flavored butter. Every time I’ve been to Pazza Notte, my food has arrived within minutes.

The portions themselves are generous, justifying the price. The average cost for a bowl of pasta ranges between $23 at the lowest and $31 at the most expensive.

Besides price and portion size, the dishes at Pazza Notte are absolutely delicious. Despite any potential wait time struggles, the food is overwhelmingly worth it. Out of their appetizers, I have only tried the truffle parmesan fries, but after trying them once, it’s now the only one I want to order.

The fries themselves are plentiful, crispy and cut to the perfect thickness. Then, they are

covered with truffle and parmesan shavings, with the flavor soaking into each fry.

While they serve other dishes such as various tapas, antipasti and brick-oven thin-crust pizzas, pasta is truly their specialty. During my visits, I have ordered and enjoyed the penne carbonara and the penne alla vodka, with the carbonara my favorite of the two. I also tried my friends’ pasta orders, finding all their dishes amazing as well.

The sauce for the carbonara is creamy and thick, perfectly coating the pasta and the bowl, leaving enough to gather with any remaining bread. It also comes with sauteed pancetta, which adds a superb touch of salt and texture to the meal. The vodka sauce is dense, herby and flavorful, smoothly coating your mouth.

When you are finished with your meal, a waiter will come by with the checks on a little silver platter and a mint for each member of the party. They return quickly with a handheld card reader to instantaneously complete any card transactions, making the experience swift – allowing you and your party to exit as soon as you are ready.

If you ever find yourself near 6th Avenue, I cannot recommend Pazza Notte enough. Between the

rapid, attentive service, the liberal portion sizes and the superb food, it is a must-see restaurant even if there is a wait. There are few words to truly encapsulate how delicious their dishes are, so I wholeheartedly encourage you to

Poem: ‘jaded’

i can’t bear to beat any harder so i kiss the wind goodbye in the moonlight and i bury you in the snow

go and try them for yourself.

Pazza Notte can be found at 1375 6th Ave, New York, NY. 10019.

Photo courtesy of Pascal Meier / Unsplash

“If you ever find yourself near 6th Avenue, I cannot recommend Pazza Notte enough. Between the rapid, attentive service, the liberal portion sizes and the superb food, it is a must-see restaurant even if there is a wait.”

Zoe Casselman / The Hofstra Chronicle

M AN ON THE U NISPAN

What part of summer are you most excited for?

By Zoe Casselman and Frankie DiCalogero

FEATURES EDITOR AND SPORTS EDITOR

“Probably moving into my house.’”

O verheard @ h O fstra

“My feet are six-foot-four.”

“Definitely go to the beach.

“Oh yeah, bud, throwing on a tight shirt –get the titties out.”

“You’d have so much rizz if you wore a monocle.”

“Bro, if you drank my piss, you’d probably get high.”

“I hope he breaks a thumb, so he can’t play his stupid cunty piano.”

“I lied, I’m drunk as fuck and I hate you bitch!”

“Get ready to fearmonger.”

“I’m listening to country; it’s making me feel a little warmer.”

“You can’t just crab walk whenever life gets ya down.”

“Nothing is funnier than a little bit of identity theft.”

Spread by Audra Nemirow

- Jia Derosa, freshman

- Sheila Doyle, sophomore

“Being on the boat, in the sun and spending time with my family and friends back home.”

- Savannah Mehran, senior

Zoe Casselman / The Hofstra Chronicle

This Hofstra Life: Will Germaine

By Alexis Friedman EDITOR IN CHIEF

As the president emeritus of Hofstra’s Student Government Association, a resident assistant and a Pride guide, Will Germaine is seemingly everywhere on campus.With his bright smile and contagious laugh, he has made an irreplaceable mark on the Hofstra community.

In high school, Germaine discovered his passion for advocacy but wasn’t in a position to be able to make any changes. Following the coronavirus pandemic which interrupted his freshman year, Germaine found that passion revived.

“I really wanted to be someone that could advocate for not just myself, but for students who look like me, so fellow commuters,

fellow students of color,” Germaine said. “That caused me to join student government.”

In his second semester with SGA, Germaine worked to help make the EthicsPoint reporting system more visible to the student body by getting it added to the waffle icon in our Hofstra portals.

“My favorite thing is the first thing that I accomplished and worked really hard on during my first semester as equity and inclusion chair was the EthicsPoint reporting system,” Germaine said. “It was something that was created through the provost’s office and Cornell Craig, our chief diversity and inclusion officer, to make sure that students know that they have a really strong voice here, and if they’re experiencing bias in the classroom, they can report that. I have a really big passion to make sure that students know it exists and is safe and available to them.”

As a senior community health major, Germaine is focused on the direct impact the healthcare system has on people. He enjoys how the focus of community health is on “the people part of medicine and healthcare and the direct impact” they have.

Germaine’s desired career path was not always community health; he began his time at Hofstra majoring in biochemistry with the desire to be a doctor but a class he took altered his understanding of healthcare and goals.

“I was taking a sociology of health and medicine class with [Professor] Ariana Ali, and it really made me realize that the role of physicians in America isn’t something that I see myself in,” Germaine said. “Healthcare is kind of like a giant machine, with people who work to discontinue what’s going on and people who work to fix what’s going on and I didn’t see myself fixing

Chron Cooks ft. Makenzie Hurt: Three Ingredient Pizza

By Makenzie Hurt

OPINIONS EDITOR

This is the perfect recipe for a summer day after the beach. It only takes three ingredients, but you can add more if desired for an extra special touch. Rather than spending $10 on a pie, plus delivery, you can keep these ingredients on hand to make another pizza.

For this recipe, I say the more cheese the better, so I like to mix shredded parmesan with mozzarella. Instead of making or buying pizza sauce, I just used the jarred marinara that I had on hand, and it came out just as good as if you only use pizza sauce!

Ingredients:

1 bag of pre-made pizza dough

Around 2 ½ cups of your choice of cheese

1 cup of marinara sauce

Your favorite toppings (I chose pepperoni)

Container for storage (plastic for short term, glass for long term)

what’s going on as a doctor.”

Going into his final semester at Hofstra in the fall, Germaine reflects on his four years and how Fall Fest 2021 has become one of his favorite experiences here.

“That was a time when we were doing Zoom school for the entirety of our sophomore year, and I only saw people virtually; that was the first really big in-person event I had since freshman year,” Germaine said. “So being able to see friends in person and have fun at T-Pain and ride the rides, it was a really nice first ‘this is college’ experience.”

With his last semester on the horizon, Germaine is excited to see what the future has in store because, “Every day at Hofstra feels like another adventure, if I’m being honest.”

Instructions:

1. Get a cookie sheet, line it with tin foil and lightly coat it with your choice of cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

2. Knead your dough until it is the thickness of your choice. Place it on your tinfoil lined cooking sheet.

3. Coat your pizza with marinara sauce.

4. Sprinkle your cheese(s) onto the pizza; add your desired toppings.

5. Once your oven is preheated, place your sheet onto the top rack.

6. Cook your pizza until the cheese is slightly bubbly and the edges of your pizza are browned. Let cool and enjoy!

Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle

Hofstra drag show back in full force

Silky Nutmeg Ganache, a drag queen featured on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” headlined this year’s “Pride Fest Under the Sea Drag Show and Ball” held in the Adams Playhouse on Wednesday, May 3. The event also consisted of musical performances by the Hofstra Dutchmen and Sigma ‘Capella, choreography by TranscenDance and various acts by student drag performers. All proceeds from the showcase were donated to the Audre Lorde Project, a community organization for LGBTQ+ people of color.

Spread by Emma Fabilli

Photos by Emma Fabilli / The Hofstra Chronicle

Arts And EntErtAinmEnt

VOL. 89 ISSUE 8

Quick Hits ‘Picard’ continues the legacy of ‘The Next Generation’

Between the immense love for the “Star Trek” series, the great respect for the source material and the imaginative ideas Matalas worked into the plot, the finale of “Picard” brings home an epic conclusion full of some of the most heartfelt and best-acted moments in all of the franchise’s history.

The series finale finds the former captain of the Starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), on his most personal mission yet. He and his crew must race to stop the threat of annihilation by their most fearsome enemy, the Borg, after launching a series of terrorist attacks across the galaxy.

The Borg Queen (Alice Krige), hopeful to finish off her 30-year vendetta against Picard, strikes a last-ditch assault against Earth. The captain rushes to save the fate of the universe on one more journey and at the same time, brings home his son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), who had been consumed into the Borg Collective and held a dark secret

of his own.

The highlights of this episode are the emotional moments between Picard and the crew, specifically his son Jack. The acting dynamic between Speleers and Stewart this season have been extremely powerful and steal the show anytime they are together on screen, as they play off their differences from each other.

All of this culminates in the final episode, where they finally recognize each other as family. The character of Picard as a whole comes to a full conclusion in this episode in a way that, as the character puts it, is “Something I never realized I needed.” This episode was truly some of Stewart’s finest work in his career of 60-plus years as an actor.

The finale of “Picard” not only pays off in a satisfactory conclusion for long-time fans, but it also reminds us of what the heart of the “Star Trek” series was always about: unique individuals banding together to overcome their differences and stop a massive threat for the greater good of

humanity. This message is also something that audiences need now more than ever in today’s political and social climates. Messages of humanity and compassion have been extremely lacking in the “Star Trek” series over the last 10 years especially.

The finale of “Picard” not only gives the cast of “The Next Generation” a compelling swansong that concludes the 30-year journey of the crew’s cast, which they were denied and was left unfinished until now, but it also paves the way for the future of “Star Trek.”

Fans have been petitioning for “Picard” to have a sequel series about the crew of new younger characters introduced to us this season. This would include Speleers and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut and have a tone, theme and style similar to this season, which harkens back to the core success of the “Star Trek” series. We see hints of this in the finale and the mid-credits scene of “Picard.”

The show is being pitched as a “new ‘Next Generation’” of sorts. The petitions have gained

an extreme amount of attention to the point where Matalas has taken notice of the online reaction to the positive reception and has expressed interest in returning as the lead showrunner should Paramount greenlight the series.

While nothing has been confirmed, it should be noted that fans were petitioning for a series to be focused on Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) after his well-received portrayal in the second season of “Star Trek: Discovery” that eventually became “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”

Until fans receive official word about confirmation of this series being made, there are a plethora of Star Trek shows, including the most recent season of “Picard,” to explore on Paramount+.

Are Ali Hazelwood’s novels worth the hype?

By Daniella McCoy SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Ali Hazelwood’s romantic comedy novels are blowing up on TikTok, yet her stories don’t necessarily live up to the hype.

Hazelwood is a New York Times bestselling author who is known for her rom-coms about women in STEM and academia. Her best-known books – “The Love Hypothesis” (2021) and “Love On The Brain” (2022) – have recently gained popularity on TikTok. Hazelwood’s first novel alone has sold over 750,000 copies. Despite a growing fanbase and her novels’ increasing popularity, Hazelwood’s books don’t live up to the acclaim.

“The Love Hypothesis” follows a third-year Ph.D. student named Olive Smith, who lies to her best friend about a new boyfriend to prove that she has moved on from her past relationship. Olive does this by kissing and beginning a fake relation-

ship with the first man she sees – Adam Carlsen, a young grumpy professor at her university.

Although “The Love Hypothesis” was a cute romcom, it falls short in more ways than one. This book greatly lacked character development. Throughout the book, Adam was always described as grumpy and closed-off; his character was never developed any further, and he had no actual personality. Moreover, 26-year-old Olive acted very immaturely, which never changed throughout the story. It was difficult reading the interactions between these two characters at times, since Olive was very childish and Adam was somewhat flat. Additionally, the age gap between the two became unsettling after a while.

The book was built on unrealistic miscommunication that wasn’t solved until two chapters from the end, and the ending was very rushed and underdeveloped. While the book had some cute moments – which explains why

so many people love it – the story clearly lacked something. Lastly, the reasoning for Olive and Adam’s fake dating was somewhat unnecessary and made the book frustrating to read.

“Love On The Brain” follows scientist Bee Königswasser, who holds a Ph.D. in neurology and is having difficulty gaining recognition and money for her research. Bee gets the job opportunity of a lifetime when NASA contacts her to work on one of their helmet prototypes, but this means she will have to work alongside Levi Ward – her grad school archnemesis.

The plot for “Love On The Brain,” didn’t begin until more than 100 pages in. This slow beginning made the book very boring and hard to get into. Furthermore, the book also reads like a carbon copy of “The Love Hypothesis” – just different characters and a different trope. Just like “The Love Hypothesis,” this book was once again built on miscommunication. Additionally,

this time it was much more impractical and got annoying very quickly. However, at least this time around, the misunderstandings between the characters was solved early on. Once again, the main characters were poorly developed, and Levi seemed to be written as an exact replica of Adam, just less grumpy.

Two chapters away from the end of the book, the most outrageous and unbelievable plot twist happens. This unrealistic and completely unnecessary plot twist ultimately ruined the rest of the book. “Love On The Brain” had so much going on at all times that it made the book difficult to enjoy. To put it simply, “Love On The Brain” was unpredictable –and not in a good way.

Hazelwood has also written three STEM-inspired novellas and has two brand-new novels coming out later this year. Additionally, it was announced in October 2022 that “The Love Hypothesis” will be adapted into a film.

Courtesy of Observer

Courtesy of America West

Courtesy of The Independent

Taylor Swift announces her next re-recorded album will be “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” with a release date of July 7.

Writers Guild of America goes on strike for the first time in 16 years.

Ed Sheeran wins Marvin Gaye copyright infringement trial.

Patrick Stewart revealed he is writing a memoir titled “Make it So.”

Courtesy

Courtesy of Television Academy

Zoey Deutch joins the cast of Clint Eastwood’s final film, “Juror #9.”

Senior send-off: Thank you, my second family

By Kat Salmon ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

I have no idea how to begin my senior send-off. I’ll start off by saying that The Hofstra Chronicle was my first family at Hofstra. These four years really flew by faster than I ever could have expected.

During my freshman year, I had no idea where I was going to fit at this new school. Long Island was a new place to me. My dad’s parents were from the Island, so I have family all over. Two of my second cousins – Shane and Kerry – would even be attending Hofstra with me that fall.

I went to high school with my first cousins, so I thought college would be a similar experience. In a sense it was, but I did not end up seeing my cousins every day like I thought I would. Whenever there was a men’s soccer game, I would try my best to go and sit with my family in the stands. It was a comforting feeling that someone from my family would be there, but I still felt lost.

Writing and books have always provided a sense of community,

and I was on the lookout for a similar feeling at Hofstra. At Hofstra’s club fair, The Hofstra Chronicle was tabling and I signed the interest form.

Little did I know, the Arts and Entertainment (A&E) section would become the biggest highlight of my college experience.

Writing reviews had always been my thing with my book review blog, so the studentrun newspaper seemed like a good place to start. Of course, only one of the articles I wrote was remotely related to books.

Eloisa James, a historical romance author, shared that article on her

Facebook page – that’s the moment I knew my writing meant something.

Themed layout nights, scram-

stressful than expected.

bling to get articles to the copy team on time and writing creative photo captions bring back some of my fondest memories. Eleni’s Twitter roasts of anyone who did not dress to theme are missed. I apologize for not continuing tradition, as senior year was more

Being a part of The Hofstra Chronicle has allowed me to grow immensely as a writer. Whoever picked up a print edition was able to read a variety of articles written by me from album reviews to movie reviews to TV recaps and some commentary pieces. It’s bittersweet that this will be my last article, but ending my journey on a high note is worth it.

Eleni and Victoria, thank you for taking me under your wing and bringing me on as an assistant. It’s been such a fun experience! Arts and Entertainment will

Hofstra presents: ‘Dike’

By Dario Mendez SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Sexuality can be an awkward topic to discuss over family dinners, and that is evident in the Department of Drama and Dance’s production of “Dike.” The show was performed across two weekends in April, portraying the story of two sisters reunited after two years of separation.

Julianna Kantor played the vulnerable “older sis” Kristen. She’s bringing her new girlfriend to the infamously Catholic nation of Ireland to visit Rachel (Jay Pearson), her younger sister and an aspiring nun.

Instantly, there’s awful tension between the siblings. We might chalk this up to anti-gay prejudice on the part of Rachel, but as it turns out, she has her own sexual hang-ups. More and more, we realize that Rachel only wants to be a nun to escape the fact – or fear – that she herself is gay. It’s a

full-blown crisis.

Close to the audience, a couch unfolded into a bed. When Kristen and her girlfriend Charlotte (Gabe James) make love on it, it was often intimate and very funny. Behind them, a small kitchen and a great big dusty bookcase were interchanged. But the piècede-résistance of center stage was the stone and stained-glass wall of an ever present and always imposing Gothic cathedral. It was a reminder that, as D.H. Lawrence said, “The cross runs deep.”

Spirituality can be immeasurably personal. For playwright Hannah Benitez – and I’ll bet many others – hanging on to a faith that chafes against a true part of oneself is lonely stuff. As Kristen points out, it’s like there’s a wall hiding her sister from her. And the wall may well be that of a convent.

Rachel wears earth tones and works in a library; she’s staid and repressed, hinted Benitez and

director Emily Hartford.

At least one character, Marion (Rachel Morris), recognizes the thrill it can be to peruse books older than your parents. Marion speaks in poetry, quotes Spinoza and, by the play’s end, is brilliantly dressed. She’s Rachel’s crush, and Kristen tries time and time again to get Rachel to confess this fact. The play becomes about two senior lesbians trying heartachingly to get two younger lesbians to be, well, lesbians.

As someone who enjoys questions about my sexuality as much as the next person, I was discomfited by both Kristen’s and Charlotte’s ploys to get Rachel to say “I’m gay.”

Pearson brought such a potent anxiety to Rachel’s character that we were left waiting for her next outburst. With Kristen’s whitehot glances at her sister, I had to look at my shoes a few times be-

forever be my home, and I will never forget layout nights with the both of you.

Drashti, thank you for being one of the kindest people in the office. If it were not for Eleni’s kind words about you, I would have never worked up the courage to talk to you.

Melanie, I am forever grateful for conversations about books and fashion. I miss not seeing you on campus, but I know that you’re thriving while wearing the most fashionable outfit.

Aidan, we got so much closer these past two semesters. A&E would not be the same without you talking about “Survivor,” “Big Brother” or “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” I’ll miss not being able to run into you on campus and chatting about life. Our section is in great hands with you, so don’t stress.

There are more people I have to thank, but I have a word count to keep in mind. The Hofstra Chronicle is in good hands, and it will thrive.

cause the scene was so sensitive.

While the show’s main focus was the sister dynamic, both supporting characters gave great performances. I have to imagine that keeping up an impeccable Irish accent for a whole show is not as easy as Morris made it seem. James brought the role to life through striking, casual honesty and with lots of humor.

The real brilliance of this dra-

ma is the discussion it has around sexuality. In “Dike,” a woman can be gay and free or gay and dishonest. Sexuality is obviously not a choice – but coming out is.

Kat Salmon / The Hofstra Chronicle

The show premiered on April 14.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra News

Summer indie preview: A24, Nicolas Cage, thorny romances and more

By Michael Gaborno STAFF WRITER

For the first time since 2019, this summer will see major film releases almost every weekend. Due to this influx of highly anticipated blockbusters, the season is poised to fully return to the norms of pre-pandemic moviegoing. There’ll be plenty of superheroes, boogeymen and death-defying stunts for audiences to flock to, but there’ll also be a decent number of independent films that deserve attention from viewers. Spanning a myriad of genres and hailing from a talented group of filmmakers, these indies are set to stand out among a crowded blockbuster field this summer.

1. “BlackBerry” (Elevation Pictures) directed by Matt Johnson – Friday, May 12

With an electric cast that includes Jay Baruchel, Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside and the Golden God himself, Glenn Howerton, this biopic about the rise and fall of the titular smartphone brand looks to be another darkly funny effort from the director of found-

footage cult classics “The Dirties” and “Operation Avalanche.” It premiered at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and has racked up strong critical scores across the board.

2. “Sanctuary”

(Neon) directed by Zachary Wigon – Friday, May 19

Margaret Qualley (playing the maid) and Christopher Abbott (playing the possessor) are the sole stars in a twisted genre hybrid that follows a cat-andmouse game between a wealthy soon-to-be heir to a hotel empire and a dominatrix. It is entirely set in a hotel room. Reviews have praised the film for its unpredictability and social commentary.

3. “Past Lives” (A24) directed by Celine Song – Friday, June 2 One of the biggest breakouts at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Celine Song’s directorial film debut has been acclaimed for its

gut-wrenching story and humanism. Already a potential awards season candidate, it’s shaping up to be another unqualified win for Asian-American cinema.

(Joel Kinnaman) is forced to drive an enigmatic stranger (Cage) at gunpoint. It’s notable for being the first film in Nevada history to use an LED soundstage. Half of the film was shot on this kind of soundstage.

5. “Talk to Me”

(A24) directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou –Friday, July 28

strong cast and inventive practical effects. If there’s one indie this summer that will become a hit with casual moviegoers, it’s definitely this one.

By Jason Fields SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

On April 12, the multi-media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery announced, among many, many controversial plans, that they will remake the “Harry Potter” film series into a ten-year television serial on their newlychristened Max (formerly HBO Max) streaming service.

Much hullabaloo has been made about the announcement, from excitement over a new interpretation of a classic book franchise, annoyance over yet another Hollywood remake and concern over the involvement of series creator J.K. Rowling, who has courted controversy over repeated transphobia. In the midst of all of the commotion concerning the series, one important aspect has been looked over, and it’s an aspect that could change Hollywood decision-making for the worst: if the show is a success, then what Hollywood can

4. “Sympathy for the Devil” (RLJE Films) directed by Yuval Adler – Friday, July 28 Nicolas Cage fans will be treated to what should be another delightfully deranged performance from the acting legend. In this psychological horror, a man

Another one of last Sundance’s buzziest titles, “Talk to Me” sees the creators of the popular RackaRacka YouTube channel pivot to professional filmmaking with what some are claiming to be the scariest film since “Hereditary.” The late-summer chiller seemingly takes influence from horror classics such as “The Evil Dead” and “The Exorcist,” and it is promised to be terrifying, intense and gory. The story about a group of friends who misuse an embalmed hand and summon evil forces is supported by a

The trouble with Hollywood cashgrabs

(and will) remake will be virtually limitless.

To explain why this would be a problem, one needs to look at what Hollywood tends to remake. Hollywood tends to remake works that are not only proven to be successful but are also easy to reinterpret. A perfect example of this is the continual remaking of the film “A Star is Born.”

It originally centered around Hollywood actors in its 1937 incarnation; the first remake added musical elements (and an absurdly hefty runtime) to the basic plot. The 1978 Barbra Streisand-led remake changed the profession from Hollywood acting to rock music – and the most recent remake from 2018 changed the genre to country. Despite those cosmetic changes, each film has the exact same basic premise – a fading male star takes a rising female star under his wing. This is how your average remake functions; take

the basic plot and make changes as you see fit. Sometimes this can create beloved cinema that

With such a terrific slate set for the summer, it’s undeniable that independent cinema isn’t going anywhere. However, excluding last year’s unprecedented success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the arthouse scene has yet to make its glorious post-pandemic comeback.

With Martin Scorsese urging theater owners at CinemaCon to play more indies in order to inspire the next generation of filmmakers, the hope is that mainstream interest in independent cinema can soon reach the levels of before. Both major theater chains and moviegoers (who often claim to desire original films, only to ignore them) need to put in the work to support indie filmmaking since that’s where much of modern cinema’s innovation and excitement comes from.

creates its own legacy – films like “Scarface,” “The Thing” and “Ocean’s Eleven” – or it reminds us of how important the “business” part of “show business” truly is. The omnipresence of Disney’s live-action remakes come to mind.

Despite this, there has been somewhat of an unspoken rule as

to what is and isn’t acceptable to remake. For example, most people in Hollywood would rule against remaking culturally vital works that have stood the test of time. A film like “Citizen Kane,” for example, has basically been protected from ever being so much as considered for remaking. Its cultural significance means that no one will likely ever want to retell it, even if they may mine various aspects of it for their own work. The same is true for films like “The Godfather” or “Casablanca” – these films’ impact on the films that came after have served as a kind of protective bubble. For the longest time, the “Harry Potter” films functioned the same way; they were a monumental undertaking and true lightning-in-a-bottle works that continue to live on long after the series ended almost a decade ago.

The fact that Warner Bros. Discovery feels it is appropriate to

take another crack at these films speaks more to the reliance of intellectual property than anything else. Everyone knows that this series will not be as successful artistically as the original series of films.

If anything, this series’ guaranteed success represents a sort of Pandora’s box for Hollywood, as any slightly popular work, no matter its continued significance or popularity, is ripe for the remake train. A few weeks after the “Harry Potter” series announcement, a “Twilight” television series was announced, clearly in competition. And for those who may scoff at fearing over remakes of children’s or young adult novel adaptations, their precedence is already being felt elsewhere; a remake of “Vertigo,” a film that is considered one of the greatest the medium has produced, was just announced to be in pre-production.

“BlackBerry” is produced by Rhombus Media.

Photo courtesy of US Weekly

The “Harry Potter” series will span seven seasons, one for each book.

Photo courtesy of Next Best Picture

The views and opinions expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors. 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.

Senior send-off: A paper can be a home

By Antonia Moffa

I joined The Hofstra Chronicle as a staff copy editor in the fall of my freshman year. In high school, I had always wanted to be involved with the paper, but my schedule never aligned with meetings.

I wanted college to be a fresh start! Because of my detail-oriented nature, I thought joining the copy board would be a good place for me. I’m not a journalism major – at that point I had never heard of AP style – so I worried about the quality of my edits. But I loved the work, and when I was brought on as an assistant copy chief that same semester, I was elated.

My first night in the Chronicle office for layout is one of my favorite memories during my

By Savith Collure

time at Hofstra. It was loud and overwhelming – trying to even hear yourself think, much less edit, while twenty people are crammed into such a small space is a challenge.

Still, I was enchanted by the professionalism of the other editors and their commitment to quality journalism. I also loved the exposed brick walls!

From then on, the Chronicle became a constant fixture in my life. I looked forward to having layout on Monday nights, picking up the physical issues when they were on stands and seeing other editors around campus.

I even began writing for the paper myself! I continued to bounce around various sections but felt the pull to write opinion pieces most frequently.

The Chronicle has given me the

space to bring my own feelings to a public venue and the confidence to feel that my ideas are worth putting out into the world, a skill that I will always be thankful for.

In my junior year, I became a copy chief, a role that I am still so proud of holding. It has been such an honor to read and edit each issue of this paper; every time I do so, I am reminded of the value of journalism and its capacity to inform and inspire.

While I am not pursuing a career in the media industry, I feel that my exposure to the field of communications through my time at the Chronicle has prepared me for success anywhere.

Regardless of any professional skills I’ve gained from being a part of the Chronicle, I have learned so much more

about being a good person. I’ve learned to take chances, connect with people that I wouldn’t normally, be empathetic and speak up when there is injustice in my community. The Chronicle will always hold a special place in my heart.

To Julia and Annabel, my fellow graduating copy chiefs, congratulations! Thank you for all the late-night laughs and commiseration over grammar issues and typos. I can’t wait to see what you both accomplish.

To Nell, I couldn’t think of a better person to lead the copy team next semester; I’m so excited to see where you take the section.

To everyone on the Chronicle e-board, thank you for an amazing four years.

Hofstra owes students a financial explanation

On April 19, ABC7News reported that Hofstra University filed a lawsuit against Nassau County because of its cooperation in the development of a casino near campus.

In the article, Hofstra’s president Susan Poser was quoted saying, “It’s serious because this is an enormous tract of public land that they are considering ... That’s of huge interest to the public whether they are for it or against it.”

I was surprised when I saw the quote, since Hofstra students weren’t informed on the impending lawsuit. It’s common to hear that students represent a university, yet we rarely discuss how Hofstra chooses to represent us. Common threads of conversation arose with my peers, such as, “Does this mean Hofstra students condoned suing Nassau County?” and “Is our tuition paying for this?” This opened up an entirely new line of conversation: “What does our tuition even pay for?”

Hofstra is a private university; it has no legal responsibility to disclose the breakdown of its financial status. Students essentially purchase an education from Hofstra; we’re not privy to shareholder information.

Yet this doesn’t mean that Hofstra shouldn’t bear responsibility of informing students on tuition usage. In fact, Hofstra openly published on its financial standings that “tuition and fees” accounted for 63.9% of its 2017-2018 revenue. I used 2018 statistics because Hofstra hasn’t published any financial reports since. Where do the remaining two-thirds of Hofstra’s budget go? So little information is disclosed that even more questions are raised.

The tuition allocation issue relates to on-campus residency, too. An anonymous student living in Estabrook Hall said that multiple washers were broken over the semester. Similar instances were also reported from Nassau-Suffolk and Bill of Rights residents.

Toilets in public campus

spaces spray excess water when flushing. Some bathrooms don’t even have stalls, just shower curtains. What about building updates? The Axinn Library recently started renovations on its exterior, closing off an entire floor before finals. The building’s exterior hadn’t been upgraded in 60 years; yet multiple new buildings have been built across campus.

What about our academic use of tuition? According to College Tuition Compare, tuition and fees at Hofstra have increased from $37,400 (2013) to $53,330 (2023), and the rate of tuition increase is 46.71% over the past 10 years. That’s double the average New York college rate hike (21.32%) and higher than the average US college rate hike (31.52%). At the same time, Hofstra’s undergraduate ranking by USNews has dropped from 137th in 2017 to 166th in 2023.

Does Hofstra use our tuition for marketing and cultural services? Everyone remembers Hofstra’s Black History Month

mistake; Jessica Eads wasn’t even in the country when her quote and picture were misrepresented on the university’s social media. Just last month the Chronicle reported on Hofstra Dining’s mistakes concerning halal food ratings during Ramadan. How do our “tuition and fees” go towards these decisions? Don’t these decisions represent us too?

I understand that these critiques are wide and span through different aspects of the university. At the same time, it’s necessary to question how the administration chooses to use our tuition funds. It may seem like I just want to complain, but it’s the opposite. It’s because I love Hofstra that I feel the need to ask and understand how we’re representing ourselves. My peers, professors and staff are amazing people who I’m proud to know. I want us to do better for ourselves and the community. That starts with knowing how our time and money is spent.

When we entered Hofstra,

we all agreed on the same P.R.I.D.E values. The letter “R” in the acronym stands for responsibility. We, as students, have a responsibility to ourselves and our community. Hofstra P.R.I.D.E. is not just how we represent the university, it’s also how the university chooses to represent us. Hofstra may not have a legal need to tell us how our tuition gets used, but it does have a personal responsibility to us. I promise you: if students had to choose between being a better school or having a bunch of tulips, they wouldn’t choose the tulips.

Savith Collure is an economics and public policy major. You can find him @savithcollure on Instagram.

Keep this paper alive and well; Hofstra is a much richer place because of it.

Antonia Moffa is a senior political science and global studies double major with a minor in women’s studies. She is a copy chief for the Chronicle.

Antonia Moffas / The Hofstra Chronicle

Graphic by Makenzie Hurt / The Hofstra Chronicle

2. A summer lounging location

8. Current Editor-in-Chief of The Hofstra Chronicle

9. Taylor Swift's favorite number

10. National sport of Canada

12. Philosopher who created the “Allegory of the Cave”

13. Hofstra's WRHU has won four of these awards

15. Nickname for the most popular freshman housing on campus

17. Rihanna’s makeup brand

1. Sitcom featuring Jim and Pam

3. “Before” to a poet

4. Car brand known for off-roading

5. Reality television show about tweens on a dance team

6. Tests that college students dread

7. Star of the upcoming Barbie movie

11. Dunkin’ Donuts’ mini treats

14. Pink Floyd founding guitarist and singer, ___ Barrett

16. Lucy Ricardo’s neighbor and gal-pal

Your favorite celebrities don’t care about you

By Anna DeGeode

It’s time for people to face the hard, cold truth: that no matter how hard they support their favorite celebrity, and no matter how many times a celebrity professes their love for their admirers, that dynamic will always be shallower and more superficial than they want you to believe.

Take Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, for example. There are countless TikToks that show tickets for her performances being resold for thousands of dollars, with some fans going as far as selling valued possessions in order to be able to attend.

People who can’t secure tickets are left to stand in line or camp outside in hopes of getting a last-minute spot. Her fans praise these creative tactics and post numerous

videos about the heartwarming, supportive attitude of Swifties around the tour venues, but they neglect to address the ugly truth of the beast they’re feeding into.

From fans spending thousands of dollars for tickets that might not even have a view of the stage to people camping in line for pricey, low-quality merchandise, it’s time to recognize that this culture is not cute, and it is not wholesome.

That’s not to say that Swift is a bad person or a bad artist to support – but fans should take stock of the situation and recognize that they can set boundaries while still being a fan.

Taking actions (whether it’s positive or negative) in honor of a public figure does nothing to help the fan and does everything to help the celebrity –without that favor being repaid.

Still, fans continue to go out of their way to defend and support their favorite creators to the point of financial and mental health burdens. In the grand scheme of things, their die-hard devotion often glosses over fan culture’s darker side.

From sports fanatics flipping cars in the name of their favorite team to Lady Gaga fans chasing Ed Sheeran off Twitter, ultimately, neither the sports teams nor Lady Gaga probably cared either way.

Ludwig, a former Twitch streamer turned YouTube streamer posted a video in 2021 titled “I Am Not Your Friend” that discussed the issue from the celebrity point of view.

To summarize in brief, Ludwig talks about how content creators and celebrities provide entertainment for their fans, but in the end, whatever engagement happens between the two

parties is surface level at most.

“If Ariana Grande tweets ‘I love you,’ she doesn’t love you,” Ludwig said. “She cannot love you; she will never love you – she only loves the entire group of people who let her do what she loves to do, which isn’t the same as loving you.”

So, how can fans balance their love of a celebrity, art or team in a healthy manner without verging into dangerous territory?

It’s okay to go to a concert, purchase merchandise and do whatever else comes with being a fan of something. The important distinction isn’t that fans can’t support what they love or protest things they hate – it’s recognizing when those feelings have gone beyond a critique or appreciation for a form of entertainment.

Love Taylor Swift. Cheer for the Detroit Lions (my family

does, and I know they’re not good). But if you’re telling a streamer that they saved your life, as Ludwig mentions in his video, or risking your online safety to duel with other intense fans, then maybe it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate why you’re making those decisions in the first place. Are you standing outside Taylor Swift’s concert venues because it means something to you, or are you feeding into her fan culture of what it “should” mean to be a fan? Did Ludwig save your life, or did the personality and confidence from his streams give you a role model to save yourself?

Senior send-off: Follow your interests, no matter how they look on paper

By Julia Razzante

I joined the copy section of The Hofstra Chronicle during my freshman year of college because of my friend Antonia, who I thought was incredibly cool.

I have always been interested in editing, and once Antonia joined, I knew I wanted to follow in her footsteps. After a semester of staff editing, I was brought on as an assistant copy chief.

At this time, we were doing layouts remotely, so I didn’t get to meet the people who hired me until the end of the semester, when we all stood in a lecture hall, six feet apart from each other, staring at the faces we had only seen over Zoom. There, I met Odessa and Liz, who welcomed me with open arms.

Since then, I have had the privilege of moving up to copy chief, and I have worked with many iterations of the copy team, all of whom have been incredibly warm and insightful.

I am often asked why I joined

the newspaper on campus, because it has nothing to do with what takes up the rest of my time during the week. I want to go into medicine, so in between editing articles, I am usually studying, shadowing doctors or working at one of the many jobs I have had over the years.

The Chronicle offers a space for me that is free of stress where I can come and put my other thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand.

Most advice blogs for prehealth students say your extracurriculars should be focused on clinical experience, research and pre-health organizations. And while this is true, making time in your extracurriculars for things you are passionate about is important, no matter how out of place they might look on your resume.

You will never regret joining something you have an interest in, but you will regret missing out on something just because you thought it wasn’t a good use of your time.

If there is something you think might be fun, try it out! Don’t let people tell you that it’s a waste of time or that you should be doing something more related to your field. It is important to take time for the things you value.

Making your whole college experience about getting to the next step in your career is a mistake. College is the time to explore and learn all you can about different fields. And when you apply for that job or that grad school program, you will be able to bring a unique perspective and be a well-rounded candidate.

I want to thank all the people who have made this experience a great one. Thank you to Antonia for introducing me to the Chronicle and for being the best person to live in the attic with.

To our past members of the copy team – Odessa, Liz, Vis and Kayla – thank you for being so great to work with. And to our current team – Antonia, Nell and Annabel – spending Mon-

day nights with you has been such a joy. I am so proud of you all. I have loved every heated debate about capitalization that we have had.

Thank you to all our EICs and managing editors over the years for setting a great example of how a team should be led. And to our future copy team next semester – Nell, Josie and Madeline – I know you will do great things with this paper. Nell, every weird edit we told you had to wait to implement until you were in charge – now is the time. Go nuts.

Thank you to my girlfriend Grace, who always waits up for me when I stumble home at 1 a.m. on Mondays. Sorry about that one Valentine’s Day when I had layout.

Thanks to my parents and grandparents, who instilled in me a love of reading from a young age – you are the reason I am where I am today, and I am so grateful.

I know the Chronicle will continue to be a place where

everyone is welcome and can bring a unique perspective to the table. Environments like these don’t come around all that often, so take advantage of your time here. Learn what you can from everyone around you, and don’t take your Monday nights for granted.

The views and opinions expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors. 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.

Anna DeGoede is a junior journalism major and the managing editor of the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter @AnnaDeGoede.

Julia Razzante is a senior psychology major with a community health minor from Franklin, Massachusetts. She is a copy chief for the Chronicle.

Julia Razzante / The Hofstra Chronicle

Pride takes down Drexel in final regular season game

By Josh Sager STAFF WRITER

16-7. The Dragons finished the season 12-37 overall and 5-18 in CAA play. The Pride leads the overall series between these two sides 77-18 and has won five of the last six games against Drexel.

The Hofstra University softball team finished the 2023 regular season with a victory on the road, slaying the Drexel University Dragons 5-2. The Pride was led by Julia Apsel, who pitched a complete game for the third time this season en route to a series sweep.

Hofstra ends the regular season with a 24-24 overall record and a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record of

By Aaron Diaz STAFF WRITER

Drexel got down to business in the bottom of the first inning. After Apsel surrendered a twoout walk, Ashley Errico took a 1-2 pitch and drove it to right center field for a double to put two runners in scoring position. Mia Garza followed that up by bringing both Dragon runners home with an RBI single on the first pitch she saw from Apsel.

The Pride began cutting the 2-0 lead in the following inning when Aliya Catanzarita reached on a fielding error by Kylee Guerrera. After backto-back singles by Becca Vaillancourt and Alanna Morse, Kayla Wilson hit an RBI single into left field to bring home Catanzarita.

Hofstra tied the game in the top of the third inning. First, Meghan Giordano hit a oneout single into left field after getting the green light to swing on a 3-1 pitch. She advanced to third base when Angelina Ioppolo roped the 1-0 pitch to right center field for a double. Catanzarita brought Giordano home on a groundout to shortstop to level the Pride with Drexel at two points apiece. The Pride took their first lead of the game in the top of the fourth inning thanks to Catanzarita. On the 2-1 pitch with two outs and runners on second and third base, the Hofstra senior smacked a base into left field, bringing home Chelsea Manto. Giordano was awarded home plate after the umpires ruled that her path to home was interfered with by Dragons catcher Savaanah Garcia. The Pride entered the home stretch of the game with

a 4-2 lead. The Pride got Apsel the insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. Two consecutive one-out singles by Giordano and Ioppolo began the inning before Catanzarita came up big again by hitting Jessica Schable’s first offering into the right field. Catanzarita’s second base hit of the day brought in her third RBI and made it 5-2 for the Pride.

Apsel finished the day with her seventh win of the season after throwing all seven innings, striking out two and giving up two earned runs. She finished the season 7-7 with a 4.34 ERA,

55 strikeouts and 76 runs, 56 earned. Lindsay Nelson dropped down to a 3-22 record on the season. She went five innings, struck out five Pride hitters and gave up four runs, three of which were unearned.

Hofstra enters the CAA championship at the No. 3 seed and will be playing at their home field, as Bill Edwards Stadium is the host site for the tournament. The first game Hofstra plays is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10.

Hofstra busts out the broom against Monmouth

two runs off six hits with four strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched. Along with the offense, pitching for the Pride soared after a no-hitter from Brad Camarda in game one and a one-hit game performance from Mark Faello in game two. The Hawks only mustered two runs off Hofstra with a sacrifice fly from Will Trochiano and an Austin Dellinger single to right field.

the Pride effectively pushed out starting pitcher Drew Helmstetter out of the game with the loss after that seventh run.

The Hawks proceeded to go to five relief pitchers in the game with no answer in sight for the Hofstra offense.

The bats continued to stay hot for the Hofstra University baseball team completing a much-needed sweep, 19-2, over the Monmouth University Hawks on Sunday, May 7. The offensive onslaught carried the team to 19 runs on 21 hits, setting a record for hits and runs in a single game and putting their record at .500. With a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record of 23-23 and 1313 in conference play, this is the first time Hofstra has been at or above .500 so far in the season.

On the other side of the ball, Tristan Nemjo dominated the Monmouth lineup allowing

On the other hand, Hofstra buried the Hawks quickly behind Steve Harrington with his double through the rightcenter field gap, opening the game in a clutch performance. Harrington collected six hits in seven at-bats, securing five RBIs in the process.

Ryan Morash also displayed excellence from the batter’s box with five additional RBIs on three hits.

With a 4-0 lead in the fifth, Hofstra fully separated themselves from the Hawks with an Anthony D’Onofrio double laced to left field scoring two and a Zach Bailey single down the right field line as the offense continued to explode with the bats. With a 7-0 lead,

In the ninth, the Pride topped off an already 13-2 lead with some added insurance starting off a Frankie DiMartino double, added with a Dom Camera single and another double from the red-hot Harrington to add up to 19 runs on the day. Camera’s single went down in the books as his first collegiate RBI as part of the late-inning surge.

Michael O’Hanlon came in to close out an already lifeless Monmouth team, putting the series to bed with the brooms out for a 19-2 win over the

Hawks.

With the Hawks being the last CAA road trip of the season for the Pride, their playoff hopes continue to hang in the balance.

Hofstra has seven games left and is currently in seventh place in the CAA standings.

The Pride’s next challenge

will be going up against the University of Connecticut Huskies on Wednesday, May 10, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m.

Hofstra outscored Monmouth 35-4 in the three-game series.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni

Kevin Bruggeman: From collaboration to confidence

By Michelle Rabinovich SPORTS EDITOR

Kevin Bruggeman has seen it all in his four years from behind the plate. Through a pandemic that cut off his first season as a D1 athlete, a difficult sophomore year and a complete coaching staff change, he’s learned to persevere.

“I think the biggest thing for me was the confidence; [the new coaches] had a lot of confidence in me from day one,” Bruggeman said. “I think that’s a huge thing as a player, if you believe in yourself, you’re gonna do good things, and having them believe in me as well made it a lot easier for me to believe in myself.”

Confidence didn’t come easy to the catcher. He reflected on his sophomore year as his most difficult because of a vicious cycle where a string of poor hits caused him to lose more faith in himself every day.

“My sophomore year I came in expecting to be really good, and I struggled a bunch and didn’t have a great year,” Bruggeman said. “I would come home from games asking myself why you got out and all that stuff instead of just kind of realizing it’s baseball. I just lost confidence in myself in that year, and it just led to a not-sogreat year.”

In junior year, Bruggeman knew he needed to change something. He always had a strong work ethic. He practiced his fundamentals, hit in the batting cages every day and spent hours lifting weights in

the gym. But now it was no longer a matter of hard work, it was about working smarter.

Bruggeman started to meticulously study opposing pitchers, combing through stats and spray charts in search of any edge he could use in an at-bat.

“In the dugout, there’s scouting reports and spray charts and percentages and all that stuff but you watch at-bats, you know like the hitter you are,” Bruggeman explained. “I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses and I think that’s very important as a hitter, to understand what you can and can’t hit well. So all of [those] percentages and my strengths all

look for a curveball,’ and I’ll say, ‘No,’ because of this, or I’ll say, ‘Yeah, great idea.’ He wants to go up there so he has that confidence in what he should look for.”

“I think ‘Why wouldn’t you?’ For me, just understanding where [Catalanotto’s] head is at about the at-bat and how it relates to where I’m at [is important], and he’s just such a good source. I don’t know why you wouldn’t ask him,” Bruggeman said. “It started a little bit last year; I’ve learned to get my own approach, and it’s just nice hearing from somebody who’s such a good hitter and has so much knowledge of the game

talk hitting all the time,” Bruggeman added. “Once you’re around the guys and you watch them swing every single day you understand what their

at the core of it all stood the question of his self-confidence. It took some serious reflection to realize that he’s more than the results he gets or doesn’t get in the game he plays, and that failure is a natural part of life.

those go into how I think they’re going to pitch me.”

Everyone has pages and pages of analytics and data, but not everyone has a former major leaguer who posted a career .291 batting average across 13 years as their head coach.

“Before every at-bat, he asks me what his approach should be and what he should look for,” said Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto. “He’ll come up to me and say, ‘Coach, I think I’ll

whether he agrees with me or not.”

Both Bruggeman and Catalanotto concluded that this kind of process before a plate appearance is what works best.

“Some people don’t like going up [to bat] thinking about what pitch to look for, a lot of guys are just reaction-based hitters,” Bruggeman said. “I’m not very good at that but some people are great at it.”

“He’s a cerebral-type player,” Catalanotto said. “When I was in the majors, we would do it all the time, whether it was with the hitting coach, or with the head coach, or even another player. I think it’s really smart to do that, to gain information just to know what to look for.”

Just like Catalanotto talked strategy before going to bat with Alex Rodriguez during their shared time on the Texas Rangers, Bruggeman explained how he and his teammates work together in hopes of bettering themselves.

“Me and [Jake Liberatore]

weaknesses are and what they’re very good at and you kind of just try to pick their brains too because you can always get better at hitting. Nobody’s perfect, and you’re never going to be perfect so it’s a constant battle.”

With four years under his belt, the catcher’s main takeaway is that being super critical of himself can only do so much before it starts to harm him.

“I’m very hard on myself when I don’t do well and it can be tough to have a bad game and immediately let it go but you have to,” Bruggeman said. “If you bring bad games into each other, you start to stack them together and then you end up in a place you don’t want to be, and I think that’s one thing I’ve done well this year: have a bad game [and then] move on. There’s another game coming and a lot more at-bats coming.”

While working out daily and working on a cleaner swing is vital to being a good batsman,

“You kind of start to realize that the more you play the game, especially with baseball, you’re gonna get out. It’s part of it, it’s gonna happen,” Bruggeman said. “You’re gonna do bad more than you do good, and that’s okay. Accepting that fact was tough, but once you do, you’ll be better off. It’s hard to stay even-keeled and level-headed but the more you can do that, the better off you’ll be.”

With that in mind, Bruggeman has two final messages, some he wished he learned earlier in his collegiate career: “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Bruggeman said. “I think a lot of young players, including myself, come in and they put this expectation on themselves that they have to perform at such a high level as soon as they get there. Looking back on it now as a senior, you look at the freshmen [and] these guys are so young. If they do half of what they’re expecting, it’s a great thing, and they have so much time to gain experience. So just don’t put too much pressure on [yourself].”

“I would come home from games asking myself why [I] got out and all that stuff instead of just kind of realizing it’s baseball. I just lost confidence in myself in that year and it just led to a not-so-great year.”

Bruggeman has a career .292 average over his four years at Hofstra.

Photo courtesy of Pete Coco

With five runs, Bruggeman is second on the team in home runs this season.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni

Camarda continues to shine in sixth season at Hofstra

so quickly was the ability to pencil Camarda’s name into the rotation once a weekend.

“It’s great for me because he always gives us a chance to win the baseball game,” Catalanotto said. “He never wants to come out of a game; he’s tough; I know he’s going to give me 100 pitches and he’s going to throw strikes. This year we haven’t had a lot of guys that are filling up the strike zone and pounding the zone, but he’s one of the guys that’s doing that, so it makes my job a lot easier.”

By Max Edelman SPORTS EDITOR

Since 2018, Brad Camarda has been a staple of Hofstra University’s pitching staff. His career has spanned six years, two head coaches, 57 games, 37 starts, four complete games, one recent no-hitter and a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship win last season. After a notable career, Camarda is finally preparing to close the book of his Hofstra career.

Due to rare circumstances, Camarda’s unprecedented six years as a member of the team have placed him in the records, sitting at sixth on the Hofstra all-time strikeouts list with 178 as well as second in wins in Hofstra history with 18.

In 2021, Camarda began to start sporadically, but it wasn’t until 2022 that he finally found his place in the starting rotation full-time. Given the opportunity, he shined right from the jump and was a huge part of the Hofstra team that won the CAA championship, earning the Most Outstanding Player achievement at the conclusion of last year’s tournament victory.

This season, Camarda set the bar high for himself once again; he has already thrown three complete games. Camarda often finds himself pitching deep into games, throwing well over 100 pitches. However, he finds himself having very little trouble staying effective.

“Everyone has my back. I don’t strike out a lot of guys, so they’re making plays behind me,” Camarda said. “It’s just the will to win, and being a sixthyear, I want to enjoy those last

three or four games I have ahead of me.”

This season he’s enjoying the games he plays to the max, as Camarda is first place in the CAA in complete games, tied for seventh place in wins with

This past weekend, Camarda put on the best performance of his collegiate career as he tossed a no-hitter at Monmouth University in which he went the full nine innings and struck out eight while walking only two.

the game. That isn’t true for Camarda. Since Catalanotto joined Hofstra, Camarda has thrown over 100 pitches in a start 13 times. Just as Camarda has trust in his coaches, his head coach has full trust in his pitcher.

“He’s done it before; he’s very honest with me when I ask him how he’s feeling, and I feel like he’s a tough kid.” Catalanotto said. “He’s not afraid of tough situations that he may get himself into. There’s no one I’d rather have the ball in their hands when it gets into a pressure situation.”

Coincidentally, Catalanotto’s first year as head coach was also Camarda’s first year as one of the team captains. Catalanotto explained that Camarda

continued to do that.”

“It’s awesome; it’s cool to have the respect of the coaches and for them to name me captain,” Camarda said.

Even after an outstanding fifth year, in which Camarda earned All-CAA first-team honors, Camarda still considered not returning to Hofstra for his final year of eligibility.

“This year, I wasn’t planning on coming back, and after the fall, I stayed in touch with [Chris] Rojas, and we talked, and he was kind of like, ‘You’re never going to get this year back,’ and ‘If you don’t come back, there’s no more baseball,’” Camarda said. “So, I decided to come back, and I’m happy I did. I’m having a lot of fun this year, and hopefully, we start winning more.”

It wasn’t injuries or a transfer portal that made Camarda consider walking away from baseball, but the chance to assist his father in their family’s roofing business.

“There’s a family business I’m part of with my father. I work with him, and I like doing that,” Camarda said. “I was doing that all fall and over the summer, so I spoke to him and he was cool with me coming back [to school].”

five and ranks 13th in total strikeouts. However, his 2022 and 2023 seasons almost didn’t happen at all, as injuries, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, almost derailed Camarda’s career on numerous occasions.

“After my first four years, I had Tommy John surgery and I had the COVID year, so I was pretty upset about how my college career had gone,” Camarda said. “I heard about these new coaches coming in for my fifth year and a lot of new energy, so that was a big deciding factor for my fifth.”

Among those new coaches was the addition of a new head coach. Former major leaguer and Long Island native Frank Catalanotto joined the team in 2022 and led them to the program’s first-ever CAA championship that very same year. One of the reasons Catalanotto was able to succeed

This is in large part due to the confidence Camarda’s coaches have in him, allowing him to go deep into games and giving him advice along the way.

“They have confidence in me, and they always speak to me between innings and make sure I’m feeling okay,” Camarda said. “They always have confidence in me pitching a lot and being out there because they know I’m giving it my all.”

For many coaches and pitchers, once a starter begins to come close to that 100-pitch mark, it is usually a sign for the manager to start warming up the pen or at least to begin considering other options for the later innings of

displayed the most growth not just on the field, but also off it.

“I think he’s matured into more of a leader,” Catalanotto said. “When I first met him last year, I didn’t view him as a leader, but last year, I noticed that he commands respect; he leads not only by example, but he’s vocal. This year, he’s

As Camarda prepares to take the final bow for his Hofstra career, he looks ahead to the future and continuing to help his father with the family business. But first, he’s looking ahead to his final few games for the Pride.

“It’s just the will to win, and being a sixth year, I want to enjoy those last three or four games I have ahead of me.”

Camarda’s no-hitter was the third in Hofstra history.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni

Camarda led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched last year, 76 and 95.1 respectively.

Photo courtesy of Connor Graf

Palmer’s breakout continues to fuel Hofstra

By Dylan Brett STAFF WRITER

After entering the 2023 season with a heavy emphasis on senior leadership and experience, the Hofstra baseball program has unexpectedly found its brightest star in freshman sensation Dylan Palmer.

Palmer’s instantaneous rise to success at the Division 1 level has been nothing short of meteoric, as he has burst onto the scene with a .326 batting average, .401 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases thus far in his debut campaign. Often characterized as “the definition of electric” by Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto, Palmer embodies that title with his dynamic play style and determined attitude.

“At first, everyone just thinks of you as a freshman, like you’re below everyone,” Palmer said. “That’s why you have to prove yourself and make a name for yourself. I came here with something to prove, and I’m trying to do that every single day.”

Standing at 5-foot-9-inches and weighing in at 145 pounds, Palmer doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a traditional baseball player. Yet somehow, the freshman inexplicably packs an astonishingly large motor into his small frame, which has driven him to unprecedented success at the highest level.

“It’s all about proving something to myself and proving to everyone that I belong here,” Palmer said. “Just because I’m a smaller guy it doesn’t mean anything, and I want to show people I’m just as good as [anyone], if not better.”

As a largely unheralded recruit out of Notre Dame High School in West Windsor, New Jersey, few could have predicted Palmer’s instant dominance at Hofstra, including his own coaching staff.

“We saw some good stuff from him in high school, but we weren’t sure that it would work right away at the D1 level,” Catalanotto said. “The fact that he’s excelled so quickly was certainly surprising to everyone, but it’s a testament to all the work he’s put in.”

Despite qualms about Palmer’s skillset as a recruit, he quickly erased any doubts about his abilities within his first

first season with the Pride, as the freshman recorded a hit in six of his first seven collegiate starts. However, that proved only to be the prelude to even bigger things, as Palmer then followed his torrid start with an eleven-game hitting streak that saw him catapult near the top of the conference in batting average and on-base percentage.

“I didn’t have many expectations going into the season, I thought I was gonna be a pinch runner or defensive replacement late in the game,” Palmer admitted. “But I just kept grinding and put my head down. I was gonna have to make the most of my opportunities,

to a new level by becoming a multifaceted defender. After making a name for himself as a gold glove shortstop throughout his career, Palmer has spent the majority of this season

things about not only baseball but also just being a man from those guys,” Palmer said of his teammates. “I’ve learned a lot from our captain Ryan Morash, he’s helped me a lot with my knowledge of the game and baseball IQ. On the defensive side, Michael Florides has really helped me a lot, and with my move to the outfield, all the coaches and players have helped me transition.”

few practices at Hofstra. It was immediately clear to Catalanotto and company that the Pride had a special talent on their hands.

“You saw something special right away in our fall intersquad games,” Catalanotto said. “We were like, ‘Wow, this kid is dynamic, he seems to start every single rally.’”

Palmer’s head-turning performance in practice seamlessly carried over to his

and luckily, I did, so I just ran with it from there.”

Although his list of accomplishments at the collegiate level is already extensive, Palmer continues to keep his sights set on the next challenge. If this season has done anything at all for him, it has given him an intrepid, can’tlose attitude on and off the field after proving his mettle on the big stage.

“At the beginning of every season, I write my goals down, and at first they were pretty small goals,” Palmer said. “Now that the season has gone this way, I have bigger goals for myself. It took a while, but I realized that I belong here and I can play with the best.”

Many describe their freshman year of college as a massive learning experience, and Palmer has seemingly taken that notion

patrolling center field for the Pride, a position that he entered the year with limited experience in.

“I think I played outfield when I was like 13 or 14, and I haven’t played it since. Now, I’m suddenly playing center field at the Division 1 level,” Palmer chuckled. “It obviously isn’t easy. It’s hard to gauge and read the ball at this level, but I’m getting better by the day, and it’s definitely an aspect of my game I’m trying to step up.”

While transitioning to a higher level of baseball and a brand new position all at once can be daunting, Palmer has certainly had his fair share of helping hands with those adjustments.

As the youngest face in a veteran-laden locker room, Palmer credits his rapid growth as a player to the numerous lessons learned from his teammates and coaching staff.

“I’ve learned a lot of different

Despite a long, winding road to reach this point in his career, Palmer likely wouldn’t change anything about the journey he’s been on thus far. The freshman has seemingly taken every bit of adversity that has come his way and used it as fuel to drive his meteoric march toward becoming the best player he can be. Now, despite raking in records and accolades hand over fist, Palmer isn’t finished making his grand statement quite yet.

“I wasn’t highly recruited out of high school, and I got cut from a bunch of teams when I was younger. I wanted to quit at times,” Palmer said. “Now I play every single game with a chip on my shoulder and try to be the best player on the field. I came here with something to prove, and I’m gonna continue to do that.”

If the Hofstra community has learned anything about Palmer, it’s that the youngster is unwavering in the face of hardship and welcomes any and all adversity that may come his way. Unafraid to take the road less traveled, Palmer remains steadfast in his quest to make a statement and prove everyone wrong.

“I came here with something to prove, and I’m trying to do that every single day.”

Palmer leads the team in stolen bases with 17 and batting average at .326.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni

Palmer has struck out and walked a combined 34 times this season.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni

By Alexis Friedman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Without The Hofstra Chronicle, I would not be where I am today. I would not be pursuing a career in sports photography, I probably would not care about sports other than baseball, I would not have met some of my closest friends and I definitely would not be the editor-in-chief. If you had told my freshman self that she would become the EIC of Hofstra’s newspaper and would be publishing this in the sports section, where her photographs have regularly been in the layout, she never would have believed you.

As a student who first discovered journalism through my high school’s television station and video production class, I entered my college search and Hofstra with an interest solely in broadcast journalism. I loved reporting, recording and editing packages, so when I entered Studio A in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication for the first time, I was in awe of all the opportunities Hofstra had to offer.

As a bright-eyed freshman, I overcommitted myself – and

Senior send-off: Not a goodbye

continue to do so – and joined all the communications-related clubs I could. In my first semester, I filmed and edited comedic music videos and packages for the Emmy-Awardwinning show Thursday Nite Live and worked on social media for Hofstra Today. My focus was undoubtedly in video, so becoming invested in the Chronicle through photography was not at all a priority.

It wasn’t until after the onset of the pandemic, during my second semester of sophomore year that writing and photographing for the Chronicle became a priority. Through the Chronicle I was able to discover and pursue two loves of mine, theater and sports – a contradiction, I’m sure.

It began with a burning desire to have images to accompany my writing when covering how the Hofstra men’s soccer team overcame the countless interruptions to their season that COVID-19 brought on. I began photographing the team just to have an image that would be published alongside my written work in the Chronicle, but I haven’t stopped photographing sports five semesters later.

The necessity to have an image I had taken accompany my writing about men’s soccer served as the climactic moment pushing me to pursue sports photography, join the editorial board of the Chronicle as a photography editor and become a student social media manager for men’s soccer.

Without that initial desire, I would not be @ alexisgracefotos, sports photographer and EIC of the Chronicle.

My time working on the Chronicle’s staff and writing for every section has

taught me many things, but the most impactful lesson has been how this paper truly changes your life. The fact that the 201920 editor-in-chief Taylor Rose Clarke is memorialized over the EIC’s desk is living proof of that. I never had the pleasure of meeting Taylor, but I feel that we are kindred spirits, especially due to our passion for sharing perspectives others might not inherently see and the incredible impact this newspaper has had on both of us.

I’d like to thank every single person involved with the Chronicle throughout my time at Hofstra and all the way back to 1935. Without every single individual on our staff, we would not be where we are today. Working alongside every member of our editorial board and copy team this semester has been a dream, and I am so grateful for each and every one of you.

First and foremost, thank you to Anna DeGoede, who has been

grateful.

A massive thank you to Brian McFadden, the Chronicle’s faculty advisor and my firstyear mass media professor who introduced me to writing about theater for our class blog, leading me to write for Arts

support, encouragement and advice. You are amazing and I am so thankful to know you.

Deans Mark Lukasiewicz, Adria Marlowe, Michele Roberts and David Henne, thank you so much for your support of the Chronicle and every student

an incredible managing editor this year and become one of my closest friends. I cannot imagine anyone else I would rather have the pleasure of working alongside this year. You are truly an InDesign queen, and I cannot wait to see where you take the Chronicle next year.

Thank you to Anthony Roberts for believing in me and encouraging me to apply for the editor-in-chief position at that Yankees-Red Sox game. Without your encouragement, I would have missed out on one of the most rewarding experiences during my time at Hofstra, so I am forever

and Entertainment. You are an amazing professor and advisor who I cannot imagine my time at Hofstra without. Thank you for your dedication to supplying the office with Milanos and all kinds of treats that give us all a sugar high each layout night.

Thank you to Jacob Lewis and Adam Flash for bringing me on as an assistant multimedia editor during my junior year. Your belief in my work empowered me to continue to practice and pursue photography, so thank you both so much for that.

A special thank you to Karla Schuster from University Relations for your endless

who graces LHSC.

Thank you to the entire Hofstra Athletics staff, from administrators to coaches and student athletes, for your continuous support and for allowing me to grow in my passion for sports photography with the countless opportunities to photograph nearly every sport on this campus.

I’m not great at saying goodbye, and I cannot imagine saying goodbye just yet to this incredible place, the home of friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

This isn’t goodbye, just a see you later.

“If you had told my freshman self that she would become the EIC of Hofstra’s newspaper and would be publishing this in the sports section, where her photographs have regularly been in the layout, she never would have believed you.”

Photo courtesy of Derek Futterman

Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle

THE HOFSTRA CHRONICLE

T he B rad C amarda S how Brad Camarda dazzles, tosses third no-hitter in Hofstra history at Monmouth.

Photo courtesy of Connor Graf