The Hofstra Chronicle, May 7, 2024

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KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935 NEWS

Students join faculty in pro-Palestine protests

By Members of the Chronicle Editorial Board

On Thursday, April 25, a faculty-organized protest in support of Palestine gathered for four hours in front of Hofstra Hall. The protest was made up of an estimated 100-plus Hofstra students and faculty.

Students observing the protest – a fluctuating group of about 20-50 people – were invited to join protestors with the option to wear a mask to protect their identity.

Student Voices for Palestine also participated in the event. SVP’s constitution states that its purpose is “to educate others on the matter, raise awareness and foster civic engagement” and “to bring attention to the ongoing violence, to advocate for and to celebrate the history of the Palestinian people.”

The protestors made speeches and led chants, including, “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crime,” “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and “Judaism yes, Zionism no, apartheid has got to go.”

Speakers at the protest included English professor Lee Zimmerman, anthropology department chair Salim T.P. Daniels, and several members of SVP, including Alisha Paracha, a freshman political science major who is the public relations manager for SVP.

“I’m tired of watching people continuously die, and I’m tired of going to a university where the president has not called for a ceasefire, where the president has not reached out to the Palestinian students or anyone who has been affected by this,” Paracha said during her speech.

In an interview with the Chronicle, Paracha said a goal for the protest was to reach the Hofstra community and beyond.

“We need to make sure that

people know that there are people who are supporting Palestine, who don’t support their apartheid, who don’t support the occupation and are here and will stand for that,” Paracha said.

“I think this club, Student Voices for Palestine, has been doing some really awesome stuff fighting for human rights and human lives, and I love seeing people working for it,” said Toby Turner, a freshman film studies and production major who attended the protest.

According to Daniels, the faculty reached out to SVP, where Daniels serves as the faculty advisor and sponsor, to collaborate on the protest.

“We don’t want any investments from Hofstra going to support Israel and companies that support Israel and occupation and inhumanity and apartheid. We don’t support that. And we want an end to it,” Daniels said in a speech during the protest.

Hofstra’s 2022 tax forms, found on ProPublica’s nonprofit explorer list, listed foreign

investments in Europe (including Iceland and Greenland) and Central America and the Caribbean for a combined total of $163 million. However, as a private university, Hofstra’s other investments are not publicly available.

Public Safety and other Hofstra administrators were also present during the protest, including Geraldine Hart, the associate vice president of public safety and community engagement; Jessica Eads, the senior vice president for student enrollment, engagement and success; and Rabbi Dave Siegel, a university chaplain and the executive director of Hofstra Hillel.

Other members of the Hofstra community, including Russell Strachan, a junior video/television major and the treasurer for Hofstra Hillel, expressed uncertainty and concern about the protest.

“It’s disheartening to see professors and classmates use certain rhetoric that makes Jewish students feel unsafe,” Strachan

TUESDAY May 7, 2024

said. “‘From the river to the sea’ is one example of the chants that was said.”

“From the river to the sea” has a storied history that can be perceived as antisemitic.

“I believe that people have the ability to say what they want. That is the beauty of our country, and we have the right to do that,” Strachan said.

He noted that the experience on Hofstra’s campus “has been much better than other schools around the country.”

According to SVP, several students submitted discrimination complaints in mid-March through Hofstra’s nondiscrimination forms and have not received a response from the administration. SVP has allegedly faced online harassment and doxxing by Hofstra students and have continued to submit complaints to the university “as the harassment continues,” Paracha said.

Jewish students have also encountered discrimination in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict, according to Strachan.

The Chronicle interviewed a Hofstra spokesperson via email, who wrote, “Hofstra has a long tradition and mission of supporting informed and robust discussion about important issues of the day through civil discourse. The ability of student groups to peacefully gather to discuss and express their opinions is an integral aspect of Hofstra’s educational mission.”

On Wednesday, May 1, Hofstra President Susan Poser acknowledged the peaceful actions taken by the entire campus in an email to the Hofstra community: “While members of our community are permitted to gather peacefully and express their views, as university policy allows, we remain vigilant regarding the potential for antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as any kind of discrimination or harassment. We have maintained a long-standing policy to this effect, and we will continue to stand by it.”

Previously, Poser released a statement on Oct. 18, 2023, acknowledging concerns voiced by the community following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Approximately 35,000 Palestinians have been killed over the past seven months due to Israel’s response, according to Reuters. Poser encouraged students who experienced harassment to report it and directed students to attend a Vigil for Peace held on Oct. 18.

Daniels and Paracha alluded to difficulties with scheduling the protest.

“Organizing events or anything that’s Palestine related has been so difficult,” Paracha said. “With numerous meetings, sleepless nights, a lot of harassment and literal tears, we have finally decided that enough is enough.”

According to Daniels, in a timeline sent to members of

Hofstra faculty and students, including Professor Salim T.P. Daniels and members of Student Voices for Palestine, lead a protest on Thursday, April 25.

Ethan Albin / The Hofstra Chronicle

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Student, faculty protests heighten emotions across campus

CONTINUED FROM A1

the Hofstra community and the Chronicle, students met with Poser in Dec. 2023 to discuss her statements and seek club recognition as Students for Justice in Palestine. Poser recommended changing the name to ensure recognition. SVP was officially recognized by Hofstra University’s Student Government Association on March 1.

According to the timeline, students attempted to organize a vigil in remembrance of Palestinian lives in Dec. 2023. After meetings with the administration, “students were pressured and forced to sacrifice their desire for a public presence,” Daniels wrote. Daniels said they were placed in the Student Center Theater for the vigil, but the administration did not assist in advertising for the event because they “did not accept the language of the student message.”

After the protest on April 25, “Several faculty participants in the protest received a letter from Provost Riordan warning them that student participants could be punished for joining faculty-led demonstrations that ‘become for all practical purposes’ student-led demonstrations,” Daniels wrote. Student participants received a similar email instructing them to follow guidelines in the Guide to Pride and apply for approval five days in advance of any planned protest.

On Monday, May 6, eleven days after the original protest, faculty and SVP hosted a second protest in front of Hofstra Hall. The chants at this protest

included “We will free Palestine within our lifetime” and “Hofstra, Hofstra, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.”

The protest featured heightened tension between the protestors and administration. Leaders of SVP claimed that the administration verbally threatened the executive board with suspension if the protest carried past 2:25 p.m., which marks the end of common hour.

When one student brought out a bullhorn, she was approached by Hart and Eads, who informed the protestors that the bullhorn created a disruptive environment on campus. The protestors responded by chanting “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be” but stopped using the bullhorn. Later additions to the protest included a drum and a whistle, which did not lead to confrontations with administration.

At 2:25 p.m., the executive board of SVP departed and Daniels began leading.

After receiving additional warnings from administration for conduct charges if students continued to assemble, faculty encouraged students to sit on the steps leading to the Unispan.

“There are classes in session, and you are disrupting classes. We can talk about that through the conduct process if you’d like to continue in this way,” Eads said to the protestors who asked for more details about the disciplinary consequences.

A small crowd of faculty continued to lead the protest until approximately 3:20 p.m., with chants that included “We support our students’ rights.”

“I understand why they’re

doing this,” said Michael MoerdlerGreen, a sophomore clinical psychology major who is Jewish and wore a kippah to watch the protest. “This is not the position I would take to try to make change, but I respect them exercising their First Amendment rights to do what they believe in, and I appreciate very much how they’ve done it within the rules of Hofstra, as opposed to a lot of other groups which haven’t.”

Moerdler-Green said that the protest did not make him feel unsafe. “[The protestors] kept it to the time they said they’re going to do; we have Public Safety here; none of their chants were explicitly violent as there had been at some of the other [protests],” Moerdler-Green said.

“So yeah, I felt a little uncomfortable but not unsafe.”

May 5 and 6 mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, also called Yom HaShoah in Jewish culture.

On Wednesday, May 8, Hofstra Hillel will host “6 Hours for the 6 Million” to commemorate Yom HaShoah in front of Hofstra Hall.

At the conclusion of the May 6 protest, Daniels called attention to another student-led protest that will take place at Pride Park on May 8.

The Chronicle witnessed members of Hillel receive backlash while walking by the protest. Hillel chose not to comment about that incident.

“I know many students are scared and anxious about this situation with fear that it may escalate to what we see on other college campuses,” said Hillel president Lily Siegel, a junior economics and labor studies double major. “Hofstra Hillel will continue to be a safe space, and every student is always welcome to join our community.”

SGA, which had representatives overseeing both protests, provided the following statement to the Chronicle following the April 25 protest: “The

Student Government Association is committed to the right of students to express their views on campus. The facultyorganized protest on Thursday was a peaceful demonstration. We are here to support and advocate for the safety and rights of all students which will continue to be our priority. The ongoing tragedies in Israel and Gaza deserve the attention of the Hofstra community through engaging, educational, safe and productive dialogue.”

The protest on Hofstra’s campus fits into a larger context of protests and encampments in support of Palestine at universities worldwide, including Columbia University, Harvard University and UCLA. At Columbia and a growing number of campuses, students have faced police violence, arrest, suspension and eviction from campus.

Anna DeGoede and Madeline Sisk wrote and reported for this article with additional contributions from Ethan Albin, Nell Stultz and Michelle Rabinovich. The Hofstra Chronicle acknowledges that one member of the editorial staff is a member of Student Voices for Palestine, but they did not contribute to the reportage of this article.

Ethan Albin / The Hofstra Chronicle

Protestors chant during the May 6 protest.

Albin / The Hofstra Chronicle

Senior Send-off: In omnia paratus

By Sophia Guddemi NEWS EDITOR

When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut.

Yeah, so does every other kid, but I really wanted it. I spent my whole life dreaming of space and kept that thought until I came to college. I went to astronomy camps during summers in high school. Once it came time to apply to universities, my intended major was astrophysics – I was going to be an astronaut. However, as I got older, I realized that my passion for space and the stars was really just a passion for escapism and longing for something that made me feel like I belonged.

When I enrolled at Hofstra in 2020, my intended major was forensic science. I was going to work for the FBI, and that was where I thought I belonged. I took classes online during my freshman year due to COVID-19, but when sophomore year began and I was faced with two more years of chemistry and biology classes, I decided it was

time for a change.

I had not only excelled in all the writing prerequisite classes I had taken so far, but I actually enjoyed them, so I enrolled in a public relations class – something to get my feet in the water.

I took PR100 with Professor Jeff Morosoff in hopes of figuring out if that was something I was interested in. While I found out that public relations was not for me by the semester’s end, I also knew for sure that I no longer belonged in the chemistry department.

Writing had always been a passion of mine, and it felt like something that came naturally to me. I grew up on “Gilmore Girls,” watching one of the main characters, Rory, aspire to be a journalist. I watched rom-coms with my mom like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “The Holiday” where the protagonists worked at newspaper or magazine organizations. It wasn’t until I took that PR class did I realize that writing was something that I could actually

do for a living. I started taking more journalism courses in the spring, and in the middle of the second semester of my sophomore year, I officially changed my major.

Flash forward to my first semester of junior year – I started to feel like I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I loved my courses, but I was never involved in any extracurricular activities relating to my new major. I felt like I was too far into college to have no experience in the field that I had set myself up to be a part of. I had a bit of a Rory Gilmore meltdown moment fearing that I wasn’t doing enough.

That’s when I decided to take a chance and go to a Chronicle news meeting. I had never written a news piece for a class yet, but I went to the meeting and explained that I was new to the major and wanted some experience writing. I decided on an event to cover and went with one of the current news editors as a safety shield from my impending anxiety and fear that I wouldn’t measure up. I remember after the event waiting for one of my expert sources in their office for what felt like forever because I was so nervous. But then afterward, it felt like I was floating. My friends and I now call it “post-interview clarity.” It is something you can only feel when you are so nervous about something because you care so much about it, then it goes well and you feel like you can do anything. That feeling never goes away. To this

day, every time I do an interview, I feel like a new person afterward.

And that’s how I knew I belonged here – in this field, in this school, in this paper, finally figuring out what really made me feel comfortable and confident in my own abilities. But none of that would’ve happened without the continued support of everyone that has come into my life because of the Chronicle.

For the second semester of my junior year, I studied abroad in London, completely separating myself from all of the work I had done at the Chronicle by an entire ocean. But when the current news editor, Moriah Sukhlal, and assistant news editor at the time, Lily Spinda, sent an email about applying for an assistant news editor position, I jumped at the opportunity. We had a Zoom meeting just before I was planning on going out one night in London, and then a few days later, I found out I got the job.

When I returned to campus my senior year as assistant news editor, it felt like I had something to come back to. Moriah, Lily and I did a lot of work that semester that I am really proud of. At the end of the semester, I was promoted to be a news editor for my last remaining semester at Hofstra and at the paper.

Moriah, my newspaper mother (even though I am older than you), you have served as an incredible leader and role model for me and taught me so much while working at the Chronicle.

You always support me and give the best advice when it comes to tough decisions. I have so enjoyed sharing this role with you, and no one else could balance me out in this position like you have.

Anna DeGoede and Julian Rocha, the two of you have led with such grace and have always been the leaders we all needed you to be, so thank you for your devotion and leadership.

My friend and favorite photographer, Annie MacKeigan, thank you for always believing in me and lifting me up when I feel less confident journalistically. And a special thank-you for coming with me to events and encouraging me to approach people to ask them for interviews, because there were times when I would’ve never done it without you.

Thank you to Frankie DiCalogero and Makenzie Hurt for making me laugh and for being good friends both inside and outside of the newsroom.

To all the people who were so warm when I first entered the office and who warmed up as time went on, and to every single person I have worked with on this paper over this short amount of time, thank you for impacting me greatly.

My only regret is not joining the Chronicle sooner. I encourage everyone to take chances in college while you still have time. Do everything you want to as soon as the opportunity presents itself to you because you never know what could happen.

A preview of Hofstra’s $850,000 renovation of Axinn Library’s 10th floor

By Madeline Sisk COPY CHIEF

In the fall, Axinn Library’s newly renovated 10th floor will be open to the public.

The Hofstra University Facilities and Operations team will open the 10th floor of the Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library next semester, introducing a fully integrated and renovated space.

The remodel of

the 10th floor is part of a much bigger, three-phase project of the Unispan, library and student center found in Hofstra’s strategic plan.

“We had a meeting back in the fall, I think at the end of the fall, with Joe Barkwill, with the company that is renovating the 10th floor and with the interior designer who [specified] all of the furniture,” said Student Government Association President Lincoln Anniballi. “It’s been in our strategic facilities’ strategic plan as a university for probably

10 years.”

The $850,000 plan was conceptualized by the design firm Sasaki and executed by Graf and Lewent Architects. The renovation aims to maximize the space and foster a more positive work environment for students.

First built in 1966 by Warner, Burns, Toan & Lunde, Axinn Library has long served as a landmark on campus. Over the years, it has undergone several renovations, with the last major interior renovation of the basement and first floor done by

Bentel & Bentel. Most recently, the exterior was redone, including painting, installing LED lighting and installing energyefficient windows.

Joseph Barkwill, the vice president of facilities and operations, said the space was underutilized and not study-friendly prior to these renovations.

“There was nothing there. The whole 10th floor was open – no furniture, nothing,” Barkwill said. “The only thing on the

Axinn Library’s 10th floor has been under renovation as part of Hofstra’s strategic plan.

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Madeline Sisk / The Hofstra Chronicle

10th floor we had was study cubicles.”

“It was just kind of a bleak space, lots of empty, unused potential. And so now, the new plans really integrate all the space to allow for more students to be there,” Anniballi said.

Senior psychology major Ava Kool, who works as a student aide at the circulation desk, said she hopes the inclusion of more study spaces will bring more students to the library.

“I’m really just excited to have more spaces dedicated solely to the students in the building,” Kool said. “They’re going to make [the ninth and 10th floors] a big student area to add more study spaces because we have study rooms now, but it would be helpful for all of us, and students included, to have more spaces available.”

Howard Graf, the lead architect for the 10th floor, previously worked with Hofstra in renovating the Netherlands Complex and Colonial Square. During those projects, Graf emphasized student opinions, and that sentiment has been repeated for the 10th floor of Axinn Library.

“He really was open to their input, and he made sure that their input was put into the project,” Barkwill said.

With modern furnishings by Ki, Agati and Haworth, the setting was selected with comfort in mind. The 10th floor will be

Students await the opening of Axinn’s 10th floor

able to seat around 100 students with chairs and sofas featuring shades of cool gray and blue. The wooden tables were ordered in the colors Kensington maple and white oak while other tables and counters will be marble.

“We got to feel the fabric of which we prefer on the couch and the carpets, got to feel the wood – there’s going to be this wood-paneled section in the back,” Anniballi said. “That was one of my favorite meetings because hopefully, once we’re actually able to go up there, they’ll integrate that feedback in there and we’ll get to see what we were able to, from a student’s perspective, put into practice.”

Anniballi also emphasized one student-led initiative that will be present once the renovations are complete – 13 lounge “egg” chairs by Ki.

“[They were] not in any of the original plans until we had that meeting with [Facilities] last fall where we discussed some things we’d like to see,” Anniballi said.

“Those are always a hotspot [on the second floor of the library], and we’ve heard from students that those are something that they would like to see more of on campus, so why not try it out on the 10th floor.”

Another important addition to the 10th floor is bringing it up to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible design codes. There will now be an

ADA-accessible bathroom on the floor, along with two other bathrooms and several vending machines for student convenience.

The 10th floor will prioritize individual study space, whereas the ninth floor will be more equipped for group work. With the inclusion of more specialized study areas, Kool hopes the penthouse will be known as a silent floor.

“The 10th floor was supposed to be the quietest,” Kool said. “I think that would be nice to have that space there again, especially if it’s going to be designated as the quiet floor because as much as, you know, we try to keep things quiet on the lower floors, sometimes it does get a little loud.”

The 10th floor is also connected to the ninth floor by a staircase. While renovations are still in progress on the ninth floor, the staircase will remain closed off.

One challenge the 10th floor has always faced has been the elevators. The former meeting space often went unused in favor of another location due to the hassle of getting up to it, especially during busy times of day.

“The ninth and 10th floor used to be a great place to hold an event because of its beautiful view. But it’s impossible to get [large groups of] people up there,” Barkwill said. “Sasaki

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.

Key:

PS – Public Safety

HU – Hofstra University

UFD – Uniondale Fire Department

NCPD – Nassau County Police Department

RSR – Resident Safety Representative

CS – Community Standards

said, why don’t you put the students up there and give them the view? They don’t go in large groups.”

Between the two elevators, Barkwill believes they can comfortably handle the number of students who would use the 10th floor at any given time.

“The biggest challenge is trying to [do construction] work in a library itself,” Barkwill said. “Working in a building that is normally meant for silence creates a lot of issues.”

While the construction work was noticeably louder last semester, Kool said that it has gotten much better over time.

“It’s been fine recently, but it was kind of loud last semester with everything going on,” Kool said. “But it’s been under construction for quite a bit, especially the ninth and the 10th floor, so I’m excited to see those be reopened.”

In an attempt to circumvent noise issues, Barkwill’s team does most of their louder construction early in the morning. This includes bringing materials up to the 10th floor through one of the library’s elevators. When working on the ninth floor, Barkwill is considering doing the bulk of the construction at night.

Additionally, the space was a courtyard when it was first built in the ‘60s. When it was renovated and enclosed in the ‘90s, the openness remained in the

CS for their actions.

Public Safety Briefs

On Thursday, April 25, at 11:45 p.m., an HU RSR called PS, stating that an HU student was piggybacked into the graduate residence hall. PS located the student, who returned to the RSR booth to swipe in and then began verbally harassing the RSR. The student was issued a referral to CS.

Compiled by Moriah Sukhlal

took food without paying for the item. NCPD responded, and Compass declined to press charges at the time.

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

On Tuesday, April 30, at 1:05 p.m., a non-HU student entered the student center and

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

floor’s 27-foot-high ceilings.

“If you look at the design, one of the real challenges was bringing the ceiling down, we did that with lighting,” Barkwill said. A mixture of pendant and cylinder lighting will be staggered 10 to 12 feet from the ceiling to fill some of that space.

Recently, the ninth floor was vacated in preparation for the next phase of renovations. The floor, which previously housed the dean of libraries’ office and part of the art museum, will become a collaborative meeting and study space with usable technology.

The design process will begin in August in collaboration with the architect. Following those plans, Facilities will share those ideas with students and SGA in September.

“I think it’ll be a really great addition to our study spaces on campus,” Anniballi said. “I think there’s not a lot of, like, centralized studying locations that we have, and the library, I think, is underused a lot of the time, so hopefully this gets students up there.”

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 Tuesday, April 30, at 3:00 p.m., the fire alarm in Newport House sounded due to a fire in the laundry room. Seventeen people were evacuated within two minutes. There were no injuries and only property damage. Three HU students were issued verbal referrals to

CS for failing to evacuate during a fire. PS, Plant and UFD responded. The situation was corrected, and the fire alarm was reset.

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, April 30, at 11:50 p.m., a non-HU student was verbally abusive and refused to comply with a request made by a PS officer to leave the library because it was closed. The non-student was banned from campus.

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

On Thursday, May 2, at 11:51 a.m., an HU resident director reported that they observed an unauthorized sticker on a light post near Vanderpoel Hall. PS investigated the incident.

Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle

FEATURES

Senior Send-off: To the longest relationship I’ve ever had

By Anna DeGoede EDITOR IN CHIEF

There’s a certain romance to my time at The Hofstra Chronicle that no relationship of mine could even begin to measure up to. How could you compete with the three years and three months – or 46 issues – that I’ve spent as a member of the editorial board of the paper?

My time at the Chronicle outlives all but three of the friendships I had when I began my freshman year. One of those is my partnerin-crime for every edition: Julian Rocha. Three years ago, I remember the two of us sitting at a table with a plastic divider between us debating if we were qualified enough or prolific enough within the Chronicle to stand a chance of being chosen as features assistants. We were petrified of the features editors – Audra, Betty, and Micaela – whose energies could only be described as too impossibly cool and put together to even begin to trust two COVID-era freshmen with the responsibility of inheriting a section with such an incredible legacy.

We may have been terrified when Audra went to bed at 8 p.m. and we were left in charge of the section for the first time, but there’s nothing like being thrown into the deep end that truly gives you a sense of the stakes and character of the paper.

I am privileged to have been able to use my voice this way for so many years. Leading the Chronicle and getting to know each member of the editorial board has been the greatest challenge and the highest honor of my Hofstra career.

In this final article, I must say thank you to our fantastic faculty advisor, Brian. Thank you for

“I

Little did I know, that night would kickstart the long journey that has shaped me into the writer, journalist and person I am today. I have learned more, failed more and endured more with the Chronicle than any class or any internship I have ever had.

lending an ear and coaching me through every challenging question thrown my way. Your wisdom is one of the reasons that the Chronicle continues to thrive

and grow.

A huge thank you also to Eleni and Alexis, who showed me that leadership is just as much about journalistic integrity and ambition as it is about empathy and kindness. Thank you to Moriah, this year’s fantastic business manager, for carrying the paper above and beyond.

To Makenzie, Frankie, Ethan,

and I am confident that you will continue to overcome what obstacles are thrown your way. You are some of the most thoughtful, compassionate and knowledgeable people I know. Don’t be afraid to lean on and test each other.

Now, more than ever, don’t let go of what it means to share this experience with each other.

my Hofstra career.”

Madeline, my Zeta son Aidan and the rest of the editorial board: the Chronicle is in good hands. I see the passion and care you have for the paper already,

Embrace being uncomfortable and know that each mistake and stressful moment that comes your way is what keeps journalism so alive.

There will be tension with other editors, deadlines you’re not prepared for and struggles with content – but it’s all part of the process. News is news. It will pass fleetingly – but the people you share the office with will stick with you for the rest of your life.

Speaking of people who I’ve shared the office with: Julian, there are very few experiences that can even begin to live up to what it means to have gone through this experience together. While stressing late at night over text about mistakes we made as assistants, giggling deliriously at 3 a.m. while looking over the final layout, learning broadcast writing during Hofstra Votes Live, spilling tea during our six o’clock dinners and everything in between, one thing has always been certain to me: you are an amazing editor, but you are an even greater person and friend. There’s no one else I would have wanted to call my fellow features assistant, features editor and managing editor.

The thought of ending this send-off is one of the saddest parts of leaving Hofstra. It’s impossible, really, to know how to sign off on three years of my life.

Nothing I could say is perfect enough or meaningful enough, and just writing that I love the Chronicle is an understatement beyond words. However, while I do love the Chronicle, I love the people more. I know I’ll revisit memories of my time with all of you long after I’ve shut the door in the office for the last time. I already miss you.

Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle

FEATURES

Senior Send-off: Hiking the paper trail

By Julian Rocha MANAGING EDITOR

I did not join the Chronicle because of a lifelong desire to become a journalist. It was the spring of 2021, and student life on campus was just about nonexistent. As a clueless freshman wandering the halls of the student center, I saw members of the Chronicle placing new papers on the stands, and I saw just how enthusiastic they were about it. I’ve always loved to write, so it seemed like a logical choice to give it a shot.

Despite not having any journalism experience, the Chronicle seemed like the right place to be. Micaela, Betty and Audra took me under their wing at the Features section, and Ahjané, Madeline and Marjorie taught me how to write the occasional news article. I still recall being so afraid to speak at the weekly budget meetings, because as a global studies and geography major, I didn’t know the first thing about journalism.

Having such strong leaders at the helm of the Chronicle motivated me to become as involved in the paper as possible. From being an assistant features editor and news social media manager to rising up to the position of managing editor, each step of my journey at the Chronicle has taught me so much about writing and leadership. I hope I have made even half as great an impact as the people who first brought me on to the paper.

ant to the Hofstra community. I cannot name everyone, but having those random conversations with people over the years such as Yashu, Eleni, Tyler, Aidan and Sophia have made the late Monday nights in the office

by is how unique its people are. From Susan Poser to Steve the night shuttle driver, I have had the opportunity to sit down with a wide array of people, each with their own story to tell. Sure, every section gets to interview

look forward to reading all the poems, recipes and reviews you put in the paper.

Under such strong guidance from Brian McFadden, our faculty advisor, I have learned how to work hard in new ways. The

challenges this paper has faced, you have remained steadfast and confident in your few weeks since being elected. Your jobs at this paper are incredibly valuable, and I challenge you to apply your leadership skills in unique and collaborative ways, since I know all of you have such bright ideas for the future of this paper.

Anna – joining the Chronicle alongside you has been a true delight. From being the two quiet kids in our freshman year friend group to running the Features section and eventually serving on upper management together, you have been a constant presence and a true role model. You have set the example for how to lead a college newspaper, and I am certain you will go far in whatever you set your mind to. You have been one of my closest friends since day one, and I have no doubt that we will remain close over the years.

“The Hofstra Chronicle is a place where I have grown and evolved as a person and a writer, and if I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.”

Having been a member of the Chronicle for the past three and a half years, I have worked with and befriended dozens of editors, each with their own unique sense of humor and dedication to telling the stories most import-

bearable and sometimes outright hilarious. I never thought that I would miss being in the student center at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, but looking back, some of my favorite memories are the Crazy 8 games or watching Frankie play Big Brother online during layout.

As much as I love the entire paper, the Features section has always held a special place in my heart. Though my thoughts on this university are complicated, something I will always stand

people, but the Features section is where people get to open up about their life experiences in a deeply personal way.

Editing the Features section without any assistants or co-editors is certainly a challenge, so Zoe – having been in the exact same position before hiring you – I admire how you have maintained a wildly creative and innovative approach to your content. You and Lily are destined to continue telling stories of the most interesting people, and I

adherence to quick deadlines and attention to detail that are required of any student journalist carry over well into the classroom, and I highly recommend students of all majors give it a shot. I joined the Chronicle on a whim, and it is by far the most enriching extracurricular experience of my four years here.

To the next upper management cohort – Makenzie, Frankie, Ethan and Madeline – you will take this newspaper to new heights. Undeterred by all the

To everyone in the department of global studies and geography (and plus-ones), your constant encouragement over the years has meant the world to me. Finding such a strong academic community there has inspired me more than I could ever express, and it always warms my heart seeing you read the paper and argue over the crossword.

With all that being said, my four years at Hofstra have had their ups and downs. Nonetheless, The Hofstra Chronicle is a place where I have grown and evolved as a person and a writer, and if I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. Thank you for everything, and don’t stop pursuing the truth or serving the Hofstra community.

Julian Rocha / The Hofstra Chronicle

M AN ON THE U NISPAN

What was your favorite childhood video game?

By Zoe Casselman and Lily Anzalone FEATURES EDITOR AND ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

“I’m scared it will be niche, but have you ever heard of ‘Crash Bandicoot?’ I love ‘Crash Bandicoot.’ Or ‘Donkey Kong,’ I love ‘Donkey Kong.’”

- Dallas Jackson, junior

“‘Girls Go Games.’”

- Kennedy Delaney, senior

O verheard @ h O fstra

“I wish I was someone’s rich gay uncle.”

“The only thing my parents ever made me do was go inside the cabinet under the sink.”

“You know how some dicks are curved? Well, that was a parabola.”

“I want to put Ellen DeGeneres in a plastic bag and shake it.”

“I made all of my enemies in ‘The Sims’ so I could violently kill them.”

“If I was in a fight, I would be so scared I would get a boner.”

“I’m here for that rainbow clit and nothing else.”

“What am I, a communist? Of course Zayn was my favorite.”

“You think I’m sleeping? I’m watching ‘Jersey Shore!’”

“If I was vegan, I don’t know what I would do. I would probably eat my nuts.”

Spread by Audra Nemirow

“‘Halo Reach,’ easily. ” - Antonio Schoenhardt, junior

Zoe Casselman / The Hofstra Chronicle

FEATURES

The presence of service animals on campus

By Bridget Sawyer SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

If you pay attention as you walk around Hofstra’s campus, you have a good chance of seeing a few students walking to class, eating a meal or enjoying the outdoors accompanied by a dog with a bright red vest that reads “service animal.”

Millions of people use service animals and emotional support animals to go about their daily activities. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals are “individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability,” and a select number of students on campus utilize these animals’ services. These animals are often task-trained and certified to offer their owners a variety of benefits.

“If it’s a medical disability, just say, some seizures or something, that the dog would be trained to either find a way to get help or at least alert the person that this

is happening so that they can do what they need,” said Tiffany Witko, Hofstra’s former learning specialist with Student Access Services (SAS).

The process that these students must go through to have their service or emotional support animals reside with them on Hofstra’s campus is long and complicated with large amounts of paperwork.

“I had to get her registered on the EMS website,” said Selah Bamgbose, a freshman entrepreneurship major. “Then I had to get a letter from my psychiatrist and my therapist that stated that I have these mental problems that require me to have a cat. I had to fill out this 14-page packet that tells you you’re liable for any damage they cause; I am actually still in the process of doing it.”

However, some students do not meet the requirements for a service or emotional support animal or do not fill out the proper paperwork to have one on campus. As a result, unregulated

By Denivia Rivera SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

Hofstra University, being a predominantly white institution, can leave some students of color feeling underrepresented despite the available clubs and organizations. New initiatives by the university, along with the continued efforts of organizations for students of color, may offer more support for Latin American students.

Hofstra’s Organization of Latin Americans, or HOLA, is the main on-campus organization for Latin students. The club plans activities and events for Latin students to engage with one another and find a community.

“Coming from a different country and facing differences, I think that HOLA has been a good way to feel like home,” said Cristopher Caba, a freshman television and film major who joined HOLA as a student who moved from the Dominican Republic.

Lexmia Ozuna, a junior television and film major at Hofstra and the HOLA events manager,

animals sometimes slip through the cracks.

In recent months on Fizz, an anonymous social media platform widely used by Hofstra students, users have taken note of the behavior of some of these animals, believing them to be untrained in the work of a service animal.

One post summed up the sentiments of others who commented on the topic: “It’s obvious your dog isn’t a service animal if they’re pawing and sniffing at everything and everyone.” The post received over 700 upvotes. In another anonymous post on Fizz, one user criticized the administration for the problem.

“I don’t know how the admin hasn’t done anything about that fake service dog. A service dog is meant to be trained.”

Witko clarified that this may be a matter of students simply being unaware of the approval process or Hofstra’s requirements for a service animal.

“I also think that some students

think they have a service animal and what they really have is an emotional support animal, and sometimes that gets confused,” Witko said.

Emotional support animals are not allowed to attend classes with students, according to guidelines from SAS. They must be in the dormitory unless it is a dog that needs to be walked outside.

Service animals, on the other hand, are task-trained and allowed to attend classes with their owners to alert them of any issues. Both types of service animals are allowed on campus but for very different purposes.

Students with service animals know that they are a necessary aid to their well-being.

“The two semesters I was here before, I was literally crying every day. I was so miserable, I was just so sad and I felt so lonely,” said Jada Briscoe, a sophomore accounting major. “When I’m here, [my service animal] gets more space and she can free roam and also I’m a lot happier. I

What is HOLA?

emphasized that the club is an open space for any student interested. “HOLA is very welcoming and inviting and is not limited to just Latin American students,” Ozuna said. “We have our arms open for anyone who wants to come”.

While HOLA is a resource for Latin students, some have expressed a lack of representation on campus overall.

“I think Hofstra can try to give more support other than just for Hispanic Heritage Month,” Ozuna said. “They can provide more advocacy for events and important holidays that are significant to Latin culture.”

One effort Hofstra is working toward to further support Latin students is becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Hofstra’s vice president for equity and inclusion, Cornell Craig, explained how the university would achieve the HSI title.

“We’re looking to get the percentage of undergraduate students to 25% who identify as Hispanic or Latino,” Craig said. “We’re right around 18% now.”

Hofstra becoming an HSI would provide new benefits and opportunities for Latin students.

“We would be available, as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, for more federal grants and money,” Craig said. “That would be beneficial to the university and to better serve our students.”

Craig also spoke about future plans for Hofstra’s admissions office to better serve Latin students and their families.

“We’re looking at having Spanish and English brochures and information,” Craig said. “Also having admission officers who are bilingual and can speak to not only students but families.”

Introducing new language accessibilities for the admissions office would provide far greater representation and support for Latin students.

Hofstra is also working toward hiring a more diverse set of faculty members to provide representation for students of color.

Hugo Morales, Hofstra’s associate director of intercultural engagement and inclusion,

have my little peace, I guess.”

The owners of these animals believe their pets provide a sense of familiarity while they are at school.

“I do think that it’s a way for them to have a little piece of home with them so I do think that for a lot of students, it can be very beneficial,” Witko said.

This sense of security is apparent among most students with service animals. “This is my first semester. It’s a crazy adjustment and having [my service animal] here has been kind of grounding,” Bamgbose said.

For students who want more information on the qualifications and requirements of housing a service animal or emotional support animal on campus, they can reach out to Student Access Services.

spoke about the positive impact he has had on students as a Latino faculty member.

“I bring my culture into everything I do, with sayings from my family to food and music,” Morales said. “My family is from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, so the Caribbean culture is how we can connect with different people with different identities.”

address or build programs around the issues they’re facing”.

Having faculty members on campus who share the same culture or identity as students creates a safer environment for students and often leads to more open conversations.

Morales spoke about how the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion works to serve students and meet their needs. “If our students are feeling a certain way, let us know,” Morales said. “We work to

Some students believe that in order for Hofstra to provide better representation for the Latin community on campus, faculty and staff need to continue to serve students. Further representation can assist students in finding a place they feel comfortable.

“It’s important when you’re moving away from home and leaving your family and culture to find a community,” Ozuna said. “In this new environment, you don’t want to feel lost in the sense of who you are and who you’re becoming.”

Photo courtesy of Denivia Rivera

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Jake Epstein

Jake Epstein is a junior video/television major. On Monday, April 29, he contributed to the annual “Herbies” production, a student award show at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Typically, Epstein spends his Monday’s at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City at his internship with Saturday Night Live. Epstein is an RA in Stuyvesant Hall, a package producer at TNL and the chief content officer at WRHU. “I live to make projects with people I love,” he said. During his time at Hofstra, he has felt “inspired” by upperclassmen and classmates. He hopes to serve as an example for underclassmen himself.

Spread by Annie MacKeigan

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle Annie MacKeigan / The Hofstra Chronicle

Arts And EntErtAinmEnt

Photo

‘Normal People’ is a thought-provoking commentary on love

By Lily Spinda NEWS EDITOR

The only thing “Normal People” has taught me is that people waste each other’s time way too often

I am dearly late to GenZ’s favorite 2020 BookTok trend: Sally Rooney’s “Normal People,” which defines the social expectations of relationships in the 21st century. Rooney’s marketing team did wonders for this quick read by forwarding it to book influencers on TikTok, effectively skyrocketing sales to more than one million in the United Kingdom. Additionally, this novel received the British Book Award for Book of the Year in 2019. Shortly after, the book was adapted into an Emmy-nominated limited series on Hulu in 2020 starring Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal. So, it must be good for its highly acclaimed praise, right?

No. Most of the book lovers I have spoken to have said that it was the most frustrating experience to read through. This only made me more than curious to scope out this so-called “boring but wretched slow burn” that I continue to see on social media.

they both attend Trinity College Dublin, and their roles reverse. Marianne is popular, pretty and socially adept while Connell struggles to find his place for the first time. They continue to intertwine in and out of each other’s lives, starting an on-andoff relationship.

After reading the first page, I expected the book to rest on my desk for the next two months as I

confessed they were in love with each other (at different times and unrequited, of course) and continued to date other people for four years straight. It is simply frustrating and doesn’t make sense at times, but so many of us find ourselves in this exact predicament because we are too scared to say how we feel.

The last chapter, “Seven Months Later (February 2015),”

that he probably won’t come back to her unchanged. She knows that they will never have what they used to have.

And just like that, Marianne and Connell’s four-year-long story ends with the two presumably parting ways once again. This book is an antagonizing slow burn. Based on the rants of a trustworthy friend about this book, I expected myself to dislike it as well, but I found myself with this book on my mind even when I wasn’t reading it.

The novel itself is quite short – only 264 pages – but Rooney takes readers through four very long years of main characters Marianne and Connell’s relationship. Starting in January 2011 in County Sligo, Ireland, Connell waits for his mother who works as a house cleaner in Marianne’s family mansion.

He and Marianne attend school together but live completely different lives. It’s one of those right-person, wrong-time tropes – but without the happy ending.

Marianne is quiet, politically thoughtful and smart but tiringly lonely and bullied by her peers. Connell is on the football team, which means he’s popular and surrounded by girls despite not having expressed interest in any of them. After secondary school,

remain studying in London.

Here’s something crucial to note before reading Rooney’s detailed observational storytelling: she does not use quotation marks when characters speak. Rather, the reader needs to pay careful attention to the short dialogue that’s back-and-forth but pages long. Somehow, this subconsciously forces readers to notice the subtle characteristics and tone of each character. At first, this was painstaking and frustrating to read, and I found Marianne and Connell’s relationship to be awful.

Even in college, when Connell was at his lowest, Marianne still loved and admired him from afar. Somehow, they called themselves friends throughout the entire book, but they were physically intimate many times,

shows Marianne bringing Connell coffee in bed and taking a shower in his ensuite bathroom. We are led to believe that they are officially dating because she has her own “chest of drawers” in his bedroom.

However, their passively jealous and non-trusting dynamic proves how dysfunctional of a pair they are despite finally being in a relationship. Marianne still distrusts Connell with other girls, and he still hides his ambitions from Marianne, showing that he doesn’t feel comfortable enough to be himself around her. Reluctantly, he tells Marianne that he was accepted into the MFA program at a university in New York that another girl, whom Marianne is jealous of, encouraged Connell to apply to. She tells him to go but knows

Marianne and Connell’s relationship sparked a realization in me: normal people don’t have yearson-end “situationships” while being secretly in love with each other at different times. As much as I wanted them together, I realized that was just for my satisfaction as a reader who had invested my time reading this gem.

Marianne is the smart loner who is in love with the athletic popular jock, so I naturally rooted for their success. Their relationship reflects how “situationships” are more normalized than ever before and almost always leave each person in misery.

Reading this and watching the limited series was relentlessly frustrating. I wanted to scream “Just be honest with each other!” but they never were until it was too late.

Through it all, they were always more than friends but not brave enough to admit their feelings and enjoy the limited time that they had together. It was an endless rope of bad timing and loud thoughts.

And for normal people, that certainly happens too often.

Quick Hits

Dua Lipa released her new album “Radical Optimism” on May 3.

Bernard Hill, actor from “Lord of the Rings,” passed away.

Kim Kardashian was booed at the Tom Brady roast.

Courtesy of The New York Times

Courtesy of People

Courtesy of Pitchfork

Courtesy of AP News

“The Great Gatsby” musical adaptation recently premiered on Broadway.

The Met Gala was held on May 6 with the theme of “Garden of Time.”

Almost 64 thousand copies of “Normal People” were sold within the first four months after release.

Photo courtesy of Audible.com

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

Senior Send-off: The Chronicle Experience

By Nell Stultz

COPY CHIEF

I’d only been on Hofstra’s campus for about 48 hours when I joined the Chronicle. Freshly transferred and stuck among hundreds of freshmen during Welcome Week, I was eager to immerse myself in The College Experience (all capitals). I knew I had a knack for grammar rules, spurred by a childhood of voracious reading and editing my more mathematically-minded little sister’s high school essays. Copy was, genuinely, the only section I wanted to sign up for. Before I’d even attended a day of classes, I was on the team. Being a staff member on the copy team was initially deceptively easy, as I had only an article or two to edit each week. Correcting grammatical and typographical errors is also a fantastic way to feel good at something, which was much needed as I switched my major and minor several times within my first year at Hofstra. Maybe I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my college career – or my life – but at least I could fix

those stray Oxford commas!

To me, The College Experience involves wholeheartedly dedicating yourself to at least one College Thing. When I became an assistant copy chief alongside Annabel Hofmann in Jan. 2022, the Chronicle quickly became my Thing.

Being on the e-board side of copy, alongside copy chiefs

Julia Razzante and Antonia Moffa, suddenly meant a lot more work: dozens of articles to edit that took up hours during my only free time on the weekends and Monday evenings devoted to layout until past midnight. Nothing about that sounds particularly pleasant, but the words on paper can’t really describe how fun it ended up being. Late

Monday nights meant snacks and camaraderie with the rest of the Chronicle’s e-board and arguing over the most particular AP style rules I’d memorized

that everyone else hated (for good reason).

This year, I was left in charge of my own fledgling group of assistants to guide through late nights of panicked text threads and weird grammar questions. These past few months have taught me so much. Josie,

Madeline, Meredith and Gianna: it has been so, so much fun working with you all. Thank you all for learning with me and for being the easiest, silliest group to manage – you’re all going to kill it next year. Please try to lock in a little more than we do now so you can achieve Madeline’s dream of being out of the office by 10:30 p.m. one day – I believe in y’all!

Antonia,

Julia and Annabel: I looked up to you then, and I still do now. Thank you for making this paper a welcoming place and letting me bring up all my weird-buttechnically-correct style rules. Anna, Julian, Alexis, and all the past editors-in-chief and managing editors, you all have

Fallout: From game to screen

By Josie Racette COPY CHIEF

In a growing trend of adapting video games to the screen, the “Fallout” series has been transformed into a television show by Amazon Prime Video – and it is as engaging as it was in game format.

The video game was developed by Interplay Productions, and the first “Fallout” game launched on October 10, 1997. Since then, three sequels and 10 spin-offs have been made by the same company. Almost 27 years later, the “Fallout” show was released on April 10, 2024.

The “Fallout” TV series was announced in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production did not begin until 2022. Created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, the postapocalyptic show had 65 million viewers in its first 16 days. The new show is inspired by

the plot of the first game, which follows a Vault Dweller from an underground fallout shelter who is tasked with leaving the vault and searching the Wasteland for a replacement part of their water recycling machine.

The player travels the Wastelands, finding and bringing back a replacement for the machine piece. After bringing the piece back and reporting what they found on the surface, they are then tasked with finding and destroying the source of the mutants –radiation-damaged humans who live on the surface.

The game concludes with the Vault Dweller’s legacy and influence on those they encountered.

the three characters’ paths overlap and they become more and more involved in each other’s lives thanks to the head of a dead man.

The player must then defeat the Master and destroy the tubes containing the Force Evolutionary Virus. After successfully completing the tasks, they return to the vault only to get exiled due to being on the surface for so long.

In the first season of the “Fallout” show, three main characters are introduced: Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), Maximus (Aaron Moten) and The Ghoul/Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins). Throughout the series,

been the sturdiest rocks at the center of this paper. Michelle, thank you for answering all of my sports terminology questions and for being a great first-year roomie. Anna, let’s keep up our biweekly texting sprees and D&D gossip. Josie, I’m not sure how much credit I can take for dragging you into the Chronicle, but it’s been so much fun doing this with you.

In a proper copy editor’s fashion, my attempts at writing this send-off were slightly overshadowed by copyediting the rest of the articles for our final issue. Copy editors are the support beams of any newspaper: this fact has been the most fulfilling part of my time at the Chronicle. I love this paper with my whole heart, and I have loved watching everyone involved help it grow. I hope to see it flourish for years to come.

Lucy needs the head to exchange it for her father, Maximus needs the head to become a knight and The Ghoul needs the head for a bounty. Season 1 ends with the death of the season’s antagonist, and Lucy joins The Ghoul in search of answers about the truth of the apocalypse. Where was Lucy’s father going after he escaped at the end of season 1? Will Lucy find answers about her own vault and possibly return home? What will Lucy’s brother do after finding out the directors and

creators of the vaults were asleep in tubes? Will The Ghoul find out what happened to his family? While the characters and plot follow the original “rules” that were established in the games, the show gave fans a new perspective. Examples of the original “rules” include the technology, ghouls/mutants and use of money (caps). Fans of the game are sure to enjoy the show, and fans who jumped into the fandom after watching the show are sure to love playing the games as well. “Fallout” has already been renewed for a second season. From the gameplay to the series adaptation, the “Fallout” fanbase has been growing for nearly 30 years. Fans both old and new are all anxiously waiting for any more news of Season 2.

The TV series amassed 65 million viewers in its first 16 days on Amazon Prime Video.

Photo courtesy of WellPlayed

Nell Stultz / The Hofstra Chronicle

By Michael Gaborno STAFF WRITER

Stunt work is an aspect of film that is simultaneously embraced and underappreciated. While action fans have their favorite stunts and casual moviegoers will mostly show up for the impressive spectacle, it is still a department that has struggled to gain recognition in the major awards circles.

Typically, the casual viewers will take many of the stunts for granted unless they’re flashy and over-the-top, like flying real fighter jets or parachuting a motorcycle off of a mountain. Those are undeniably impressive feats that deserve all the praise in the world, but they can’t help but overshadow some of the more ground-level set pieces that the action world has to offer. The following five stunts aren’t only among the best in film, but they also happen to, unfortunately, slip by unnoticed in conversations regarding cinema’s most impressive stuntwork.

Car Fight – “The Raid 2”

The most overlooked stunts in action cinema

Among the most intricate and visceral fight scenes in a duology, the car scene in the Indonesian martial arts crime epic “The Raid 2” stands tall among every other vehicle-set hand-to-hand bout. On top of simply coming across as a giddily vicious and violent

escape attempt for Iko Uwais’ character, the behind-thescenes execution is even more thrilling and innovative.

enhanced vehicle fights set in most modern-day films.

Opening – “The Villainess” Hailing from South Korea, Jung

For one shot, director Gareth Evans passed the camera from outside the car through a window to the cinematographer who was dressed up as a car seat, who then passed it on to an assistant outside the opposite window. It’s a multi-person magic trick that is pulled off flawlessly in-camera, and easily puts to shame the often digitally-

Byung-gil’s kinetic story about a vengeful assassin starts off with more than a bang. Viewers are immediately immersed in a dizzying one-take shot that stays in first-person point of view for four minutes before cleverly using a mirror to transition into third person point of view. It’s a breathlessly exciting trek littered

with stabbing, kicking, shooting and body trauma by gym equipment, and Byung-gil and star Kim Ok-vin are more than up to the task of showing it off to the audience’s eyes.

Hospital One-Take –“Hard Boiled”

This bullet-riddled and gorgeously stylized cop thriller was Hong Kong legend John Woo’s last film before making U.S. productions, and though it is packed with glorious shootouts, one has blasted its way into the hearts of action junkies everywhere. This would be the hospital sequence, which is a five-minute one-take that was ironically conceived to save time for the arduous shoot. It was a difficult and dangerous process, with issues such as switching all of the set decorations and effects (including pyrotechnics) within 20 seconds and glass being flung into star Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s eyes. Though the behind-the-scenes

drama might induce a headache, the action itself provides nothing but euphoria for fans of lengthy, well-staged shootouts in film.

Underwater Heist – “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” “Mission: Impossible” is a franchise notorious for delivering increasingly complex and death-defying stunts with each installment, so it’s understandable if some sequences are less memorable than others. One such scene takes place in the fifth installment (the same film where Tom Cruise hangs off the side of a plane) and features Ethan Hunt (Cruise) replacing and retrieving a computer chip in an underwater cooling system. The system sees Cruise take a real 120-foot jump into the water and hold his breath for six minutes as opposed to the originally-planned three. This was done several times and features a CG mechanical arm, and when all is said and done one of the most underappreciated stunts in the Mission: Impossible series is one of its most accomplished.

‘Baby Reindeer’ explores the complexity of trauma

By Sophia Guddemi

NEWS EDITOR

Richard Gadd’s life is on display in Netflix’s new show “Baby Reindeer.” The dramathriller miniseries premiered on April 11 and is inspired by Gadd’s autobiographical oneman performance of the same name.

The show follows struggling comedian and barman Donny who meets a lonely woman, Martha, who claims to be a lawyer. After he offers her a cup of tea, she becomes obsessed with him and begins to stalk him incessantly.

However, Donny and Martha are not just characters on a screen. The whole show is a dramatization of Gadd’s real life. In reality, he was also stalked after offering a woman a cup of tea and faced this trauma for years before she was finally arrested.

“I felt sorry for her. That’s the first thing I felt,” Donny said in

the show, referring to his and Martha’s first meeting which led to years of torment in his 20s.

In the show, Martha initially begins by emailing Donny constantly and showing up to his work every day. The stalking progresses as she follows him home, assaults him, and publicly humiliates him and his girlfriend several times.

In total, Gadd received 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters from his stalker. Where this show excels and what is different about this portrayal of stalking and abuse is its display of the many nuances that come with trauma.

ly vulnerable. In Episode 4, it is revealed that just before meeting

ence after this episode that the show is not just about a stalker, but about a man who is coping with experiencing extreme abuse.

The abuse starts from outside sources and ends up coming from within. Donny starts to seek out harmful experiences after the abuse in order to cope with his experiences, leading him to sympathizing with Martha several times and the two forming an unexplainable and complex bond.

tions seriously, trying to understand Martha and why she acted the way she did for years. He had an overwhelming desire to understand her and to make sense of what had happened to him. This again showcases the use of escapism through his trauma with Martha to avoid dealing with the core of his emotions: the abuse he faced before even meeting her.

Martha enters Donny’s life when he is extremely emotional-

Martha, Donny had just faced a series of assaults by a television executive that left him both traumatized and sexually confused. At this time, he felt like less of a man and was seeking validation in all sorts of self-destructive ways.

It becomes clear to the audi-

The show highlights how having a stalker is a complex experience that isn’t black and white. Martha makes Donny feel more masculine while simultaneously destroying his sense of safety.

Donny spirals after the police finally take his stalking allega-

The most impressive part of the show is the capability of Gadd as not only an actor but as a human. In acting out this autobiographical story, he had to relive some of the most traumatic experiences of his life. But he is proof to audiences that you can turn your traumas around and that there is a way out.

The show was directed by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch.

Photo courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes

Stunt work in movies originated with silent films.

Photo courtesy of Esquire

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.

Professors shouldn’t assign more than they can grade

By Estelle Collette

In a world where a grade point average can determine your enrollment, affect whether you keep a scholarship and prevent you from graduating, professors should be on top of grading – but many are not.

Students are often given several assignments per week, sometimes multiple from the same class. Whether solving equations or writing papers, we’re expected to budget our time and uphold the workload of four to six classes on top of jobs and extracurricular activities. It can become overwhelming, and professors shouldn’t assign more than they can grade.

Professors sometimes take weeks or even months to grade

and give feedback on students’ submitted assignments. Without grades for their submitted assignments, and while facing a seemingly endless list of upcoming tasks, it’s difficult for students to know what changes they can make to improve.

Feedback is a necessity that can drastically affect the quality of work being produced. Yet many professors at Hofstra don’t use Canvas, don’t provide feedback and don’t grade on time.

Too often have students gone long periods of time with weekly assignments yet only one or two posted grades. Students have gotten used to hearing excuses from professors, such as, “There are 30 of you and one of me,” or “I teach other classes.” Still, professors expect the completion of work

that they cannot make time to grade.

Furthermore, professors penalize students if they don’t finish work on time, deducting points or refusing to accept the work at all. One of the things holding students back from submitting work on time, however, is the fact that they often have no idea how their previous assignments have been graded. This trend can make students feel disrespected.

Along with not grading or giving feedback on assignments, students report that some professors don’t even use Canvas, contributing to a lack of clarity about upcoming work. This problem is happening across all majors. Students have had experiences with professors using outside resources

for homework but neglecting to announce assignments in class or post any schedule online, leading to assignments building up unbeknownst to them.

With professors not posting clear directions and due dates for assignments on Canvas, students are often forced to comb through multiple platforms trying to see what’s due. With the amount of money people pay to attend this school, this sort of neglect is unacceptable.

This trend does not end with grades. Too many students have experiences with professors who make no effort to work with students one-on-one.

Students are not being given the help that they need. They’re expected to guess when their assignments will be posted and hope they can complete them

before they’re due. Students face strict submission deadlines without any feedback about grades and are often met with no response when they try to reach out directly. Long waits for feedback from professors leave students helpless when it comes to improving their grades.

Our professors are letting us down. If you don’t have enough time to grade your students’ work, you are assigning too much. If you can’t help students when they need it, you shouldn’t be teaching. Hofstra students deserve better.

Estelle Collette is a sophomore filmmaking major and music minor.

Why you should take a class in disability studies

By Craig Mannino

Disability is a great equalizer. No matter how ablebodied you may be right now, your chances of gaining some kind of disability are higher than you may think. Whether it be from injury, disease or age, the Social Security Administration estimates that a quarter of 20-year-old Americans will become disabled before retiring. Not only that, but over 40 million Americans (around 13% of our population) live with disabilities already. These facts make it strange that disability studies – the study of disabled individuals, their interactions with society and their efforts to gain equal rights – is not studied as consistently as other comparable areas of scholarship.

With the issue of ableism being as widespread as it is, it’s surprising that only 21 universities in America offer degrees in disability studies. Stigmas surrounding disability have persisted quite literally

forever, and a big part of that comes from our culture’s lack of knowledge about disabled people.

A lot of this stigma comes from our classification of “normal.” Disability scholars like Douglas C. Baynton propose that what is considered normal only exists to create an “unquestionable good and right…[to] justify the denial of legitimacy and certain rights to individuals or groups.” In other words, classifying something as “normal” only demonizes what is not normal.

This idea of “normal” extends beyond disability studies. Marginalized groups were (and still are) denied equal rights for centuries on the basis that they did not adhere to what a “normal” person was: straight, white, cisgendered, able-bodied, Christian and male. This is also why the rhetoric surrounding any equal rights movement is that there is no “normal” race, gender, sex or religion. We are all the same; nobody is inherently less or more than

anyone else because of who they are.

Although the idea of someone being “normal” is applied less in practice and more in theory, it has undeniably gripped our culture. For example, think of how politicians simultaneously emphasize that everyone is equal and do nothing to stop redlining. You’d be hardpressed to find someone who would tell you to your face that there is a race that is inherently better than another. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached a point where we can culturally say that there is no normal body type, mental aptitude or well-being.

Even our laws addressing inequality for disabled individuals are weak at best. A common theme of disability scholarship is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) could do more. Sure, it resulted in the addition of thousands of ramps, automatic doors and other things of that nature (called retrofits), but these retrofits only put a band-aid on a bigger

issue. While a ramp hastily installed next to a set of stairs may make a building more accessible, it sends the message that this is where changes to accessibility start and end, rather than pursuing architecture that works for everybody. Some disability advocates claim that the ADA’s presentation as a leap in human rights stalls progress on larger issues.

If you’re looking for a less subtle way the disabled community is discriminated against, look no further than the 2015 New York Task Force on Life and Law’s Ventilator Allocation Guidelines. These guidelines codified how to ration ventilators in the case of a shortage; however, these guidelines’ criteria unintentionally codified discrimination against disabled people. Patients considered more likely to survive were prioritized over those considered less likely to. Although this may seem like a good idea, the way patients’ survivability was ranked was biased against those with disabilities.

Before you write off disability studies and disability activism as not applying to you, remember that 70% of Americans with disabilities are over 65 years old, and I guarantee you that most of them accrued their disabilities with age, injury or disease. Just as the members of the silent generation or the baby boomers became less able-bodied over time, our generation will too. Disability studies and disability activism pay dividends for everyone.

This semester, I took an “Activism and Disability” course and I’m glad I did. Classes like these bring us closer to eradicating the idea that there is a normal body type, a normal mental aptitude or a normal well-being. Take a class in disability studies. I promise you have a lot to learn.

Craig Mannino is a sophomore English and writing studies double major.

OPINION

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.

May 7 Chron Crossword

Across

3. A craft that uses a hook and yarn to create intricate textile designs.

4. A group of geese.

5. Former king of the Babylonian Empire whose code enforced fair laws of trial.

8. Ancient Greek mythological figure who fell in love with himself.

10. Main protagonist of “Red Dead Redemption 2.”

11. A purple yam originally from the Phillipines.

12. Google’s astrologically-named AI chatbot.

13. Term for when tattoos cover the entirety of one's limbs.

Down

1. Over 1,000 islands make up this Oceanic subregion.

2. An express highway without tolls.

6. Kansas City is located in this state.

7. Steak and car accidents share this term.

9. TV show based in Chicago starring William H. Macy.

10. Plastic bit on the end of a shoelace.

Graphic by Ethan Albin and Tim Daly / The Hofstra Chronicle

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.

Not all “bad” historical monuments should be taken down

By Beau Dragone

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again” – Maya Angelou Historical monuments are placed to memorialize the past and remember how we got to where we are today. In recent history, some monuments have become the subject of controversy while others have remained inoffensive. What defines this ruling? If certain monuments are considered offensive, why were they put up in the first place, and should they be taken down? Well, not all historical monuments should be removed. Instead, they should be altered to display a more modern and accurate understanding of history to educate the public. Sometimes public reaction to these monuments changes along with our understanding of historical events and figures far after the monument’s creation. One of the most prevalent exam-

By Sophia Guddemi

Okay, so obviously she did some things wrong. But I don’t think that Rory deserves the amount of hate that she gets from fans of the show.

“Gilmore Girls” follows the lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, an iconic mother-daughter duo. Lorelai had Rory when she was only 16 years old, so it’s clear from the beginning of the show that they have a close bond and, at times, act more like best friends than mother and daughter. Throughout the show, we see Rory grow up and navigate through high school and college.

This period in life is a time when many people make poor decisions in the hopes of “finding themselves” and figuring out how they want to spend the rest of their lives. Because of this journey through adolescence, Rory has become one of the most hated and criticized

ples of this is statues of Christopher Columbus. We used to celebrate him as the “founder of America” and had statues across the entire country in his honor. According to The Monument Lab, as of 2021, there were 149 monuments dedicated to Columbus in the United States, which was third, just behind Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. After education and discourse around Columbus changed to more accurately include all of his wrongdoings, some monuments created in his honor were taken down. In fact, 36 Columbus statues were removed prior to 2021, and more have since then.

The reasoning for taking the monuments down came from the idea that they celebrate someone who is now regarded as a bad person for his mistreatment of indigenous people. The plaques often referred to him as the man who founded America, and therefore, he was the reason for the start of America’s geo-

graphic civilization. However, the more modern understanding of Columbus is that he was a brutalizing colonizer who not only stole land from indigenous Americans but also subjected them to extreme violence and slavery. As a result, many cities decided it was best to take down their Columbus statues after massive protests broke out. Taking down statues is a harmful form of censorship. In relation to Angelou’s words, he caused immense pain. He obviously should not be celebrated, but instead he should be the subject of education and public discourse. Changing monument plaques to write accurate descriptions of historical events and figures is the best way to acknowledge the atrocities of the past and hopefully prevent them from reoccurring through educating the public.

Another example of this is a J. Marion Sims statue in East Harlem, New York City, that was taken down in early 2018 after

it became a subject of protest. Sims was regarded as the “father of gynecology” in the 1800s and was celebrated as such for a long time. It was later brought to the public eye that he conducted incredibly unethical medical procedures on Black enslaved women without their consent, which is why the statue was called to be taken down. The two plaques on his monument listed the awards he won and celebrated that he made massive steps in the surgical world. Once people found out about his unethical practices, these statues served as a reminder of the atrocities that Black enslaved women went through during that time.

It is obvious how awful of a person Sims was, and that he should not be celebrated by any means. Instead of taking his monument down completely, it’s important to change the plaques for accuracy to educate the public on how horrible Sims was. Taking down that statue

Rory Gilmore did nothing wrong

characters on the show.

People should stop judging Rory so heavily for her mistakes, because in reality no one should be judged for the silly mistakes they made as young adults. People should not be judged based on their worst moments, especially when they, like Rory, had good intentions.

Most of the “bad” things that she does are just a result of her learning and growing up. Rory lived an extremely sheltered life with her mother, and when she enters the real world, she messes up quite a few times. And of course she makes mistakes, because she is an extremely realistic character considering everything that she has been through.

Rory is heavily criticized by viewers for her romantic relationships. The relationship that she gets the most backlash for is her first boyfriend, Dean – but it’s not for what happens between them in high school.

Dean gets married during Rory’s freshman year of college. The two exes remain friends, but their dynamic becomes complicated as both clearly still have feelings for each other. In one of the show’s worst moments, Rory loses her virginity to her now married ex-boyfriend.

The moment is hard to watch and becomes even more cringey when she is immediately met by her mother, who is horrified by the situation.

Yes, what Rory did was immature. It was an incredibly selfish moment of weakness and was probably one of her worst decisions. But a first love can make even the smartest people act crazy. Cheating is never okay, especially with a married man, but there were two people in that bed and it was clear that Dean took control of the situation in order to get what he wanted from Rory.

An already-confused Rory is

hides important history. No one should have to go through what these women went through ever again which is why it is so vital to educate the public. This way, society can learn from the past and move forward. Sims is not a person we want to see memorialized; we want to see the people who sacrificed their lives for women of the future.

I’m not saying that we should leave up monuments of all the people who we learned horrible things about. Obviously some extreme examples and outliers need changing. However, taking them down and censoring them is forgetting a major part of history. Instead, plaques should be changed, figures should be replaced instead of removed and above all, education should be spread.

Beau Dragone is a senior public relations major and rhetorical studies minor.

met right after this emotional moment by her mother who criticizes her on the issue. Regardless of the circumstances in which she lost her virginity, Rory deserved a moment of peace in order to process her own feelings before Lorelai pushed her own opinions onto her daughter.

Moving on to one of Rory’s most discussed “faults” and most misunderstood moments: dropping out of Yale.

Picture this: your whole life and personality are derived from your success in school.

You complete school assignments with ease, transfer to a strict private school, become valedictorian basically in your sleep and then get into all your dream colleges.

Two years later, you land the perfect internship with your boyfriend’s dad at a major newspaper and life seems to be going well. One day, a highranking man in your field of

work says that you don’t have what it takes to pursue your dream job and that you would be better off as an assistant. I, too, would question my whole sense of self, and you’re lying if you say you would be any different.

The moral of the story is that we need to stop judging people for the decisions that they make as they are still growing up, and “Gilmore Girls” becomes the perfect example of why this is necessary. Rory has many admirable qualities that are the core of who she is, and that is what matters. She’s a realistic example that not everything will always go to plan. Sometimes things will be your fault – but everything broken can be fixed, and you can be better for it in the end.

Sophia Guddemi is a senior journalism major and criminology minor. She is a news editor. She is also Rory Gilmore.

R I D E

S T A T S :

2 Y E A R S S P O R T S E D I T O R 1 Y E A R E D I T O R A T L A R G E A N D R E W F A N T U C C H I O

P E R F O R M E R O F T H E W E E K

Women’s lacrosse season comes to an end in CAA playoffs

By Anthony Hidalgo STAFF WRITER

The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team saw their season end in an 18-9 beatdown by the Drexel University Dragons in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) tournament semi-final on Thursday, May 2, at LaValle Stadium.

The Pride was forced onto their back foot early, trailing 9-1 after the first quarter in a nightmarish start as the Dragons jumped all over the Hofstra defense from the opening draw.

“Obviously, not the way we wanted our season to end, but

just super proud of our team and everything we were able to accomplish this year from the journey we’ve been on from September,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team. The growth we had from last season to this season, the things that we accomplished and goals that we achieved, I think that’s remarkable, and it’s stuff we can build upon going into next year.”

Hofstra held their own the rest of the way with Drexel outscoring the Pride only 9-8 in the remaining three quarters.

“They were resilient. They played with a lot of heart, they were tough,” Smith said. “We had to be dominant on the draw controls and try to keep it 50-50, and their goalie is very good, she had a great season. At the end of the day, they had a stronger quarter one and started off fast and it was hard for us to make up from there, but I thought our team played with a lot of heart and were really resilient out there on the field.”

Corinne Bednarik had a stellar showing for the Dragons, dishing out nine assists.

Bednarik was also one of three Drexel players to score a hat trick, Allison Drake and Molly Weygand being the other two. The trio got Drexel in front early on, each grabbing their first goals within the first four minutes of play.

Drexel’s Jenika Cuocco continued to be a thorn in Hofstra’s side, recording 13 saves, after a 15-save performance when these teams met five days earlier.

Kristen Redding was one of a few bright spots for the Pride, leading her side with four points on three goals and an assist.

Lauren Coletti chipped in two goals as well.

“With 10 freshmen, a lot was asked of them,” Smith said. “Kristen Redding out there on the offensive side of the field did a really great job for us.”

The Pride would not have been in this game in the first place without Kerry Walser and Melissa Sconone. The duo has

been the motor to the Pride’s offense this season, and Drexel made it a point to limit the pair’s contributions. Hofstra’s top two leading goal scorers were held to one goal each, both coming in the latter half of the fourth quarter.

“[Walser] put a lot of work in and she had a tremendous season,” Smith said. “It was the best season that we’ve seen from [Walser] and just really proud of her, she left it all out on the field. Sconone brought a lot of leadership on and off the field. [Drexel was] just playing some great one-on-one defense, sliding early. I think we started to wear them down a little bit in the fourth quarter. Hats off to them, and a job well done.”

An early goalkeeper switch was made in the second quarter when Casey Phelps subbed in for Luchianna Cardello. The Dragons scored 11 goals on Cardello, but Phelps gave the Pride a spark off the bench, slowing down Drexel as much as possible during the final three frames.

“[Phelps] did a great job; not an easy time to come in,” Smith said. “[She] made some clutch saves for us to give us some momentum going in the second, third and fourth quarters. Really proud of [Phelps] for stepping in and being able to do that.”

The Pride finished off their season with a 9-8 record after going 7-2 in CAA play, a fivewin improvement from last season. On the flip side of the field, Drexel improved to 13-4 and marched ahead in the CAA tournament where they took on the defending champions, the Stony Brook University Seawolves, on Saturday, May 4.

Hofstra winning streak snapped by Stony Brook

By Aaron Diaz STAFF WRITER

A big third inning for the Stony Brook University Seawolves snapped the Hofstra University baseball team’s win streak. The Seawolves avoided getting swept with an 11-6 win at home on Sunday, May 5.

Hofstra’s offense wavered in the game – Alex McCoy was the only player with three hits while multiple players contributed one. Penn Sealey also hit a home run on the board for the Pride but that was not enough to come out on top.

The pitching also did not

By Nick Mongiovi STAFF WRITER

come through, with Hofstra head coach Frank Catalanotto using six pitchers in the series finale.

The Seawolves contributed on all fronts with a stellar pitching performance from Ty Saunders, who allowed three runs on four hits and four strikeouts. Brett Paulsen carried the offense for Stony Brook going 4-5 with a home run and five RBIs.

Having won their past two games, Hofstra came into this game looking for the sweep against their Long Island rivals. On the mound for Hofstra was Tanner Sanderoff, coming off a good outing from the previous weekend.

The Seawolves opened the third inning with a bang as they scored four runs off many blunders made by the Hofstra defense. Matt Brown-Eiring added a single up the middle scoring two runs, 2-0. Paulsen made his way around the diamond off a wild pitch and

a balk as Stony Brook put two more runs on the board, 4-0.

Sanderoff only completed 2.1 innings in this game, giving up four hits on four runs with three walks and one strikeout being knocked out after the second inning.

Paulsen answered again with a solo home run as the Seawolves took a 5-1 lead following the fifth inning. Sealey tried to put the team on his back with a two-run bomb as the Pride inched closer, cutting the lead to two at 5-3.

However, Stony Brook completely unraveled their offense after the seventh inning as Paulsen continued his dominance at the plate with a single and a double, putting 11 runs on the board for the Seawolves.

McCoy and Steve Harrington both singled in the ninth, putting two runs across and making it 11-6. Stony Brook handled the rest, closing the series out with a win.

This loss puts the Pride at

10-11 in the Coastal Athletic Association with two more series remaining in the season. Hofstra is 20-28 overall.

With their game against Rutgers canceled within the week, Hofstra will have the time off before hitting the road against the top-seeded University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks. The first pitch is set for Friday, May 10, at 6 p.m.

Softball shut out in regular season finale

The Hofstra University softball team lost to the College of Charleston Cougars 8-0 after five innings of equal play due to the run-ahead rule on Saturday, May 4. With this loss, the Pride fell to 21-24 overall and 17-10 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) while the Cougars improved to 10-39 overall and 4-23 in the CAA. Charleston took a commanding lead in the third inning. Mia Dittoe led off with a single to left field. Brooke Tranum was issued a hit-by-pitch to make it runners on first and second with nobody out. After

Malaka Belser worked a walk to load the bases, Shealyn Starks roped a two-RBI single to right field, scoring both Dittoe and Tranum.

With the bases still juiced and two outs in the inning, Sierra Paradis singled through the left side of the infield, scoring both Starks and Belser to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead.

Charleston tacked on three more runs in the fourth.

Brooke Marquez doubled to left field and advanced to third as Halle Cannon and Starks came around to score. Then Paradis singled to left center, scoring Marquez. The Cougars led 8-0 after four innings.

Annabella Pisapia got the start for Hofstra. Her day ended after two-plus innings of work as she got pulled for Marisa Ogden in the middle of the third inning after allowing the first three batters to reach base safely. Pisapia allowed four runs on three hits, one walk and two hit batsmen. Ogden pitched two innings in relief and allowed four runs on six hits and no walks. Neither

pitcher for the Pride struck out an opposing batter.

Hofstra was out-hit nine to two in this game, but one player in particular has been seeing the ball well as of late. Freshman second baseman Nicole Cancel has had trouble at the plate all season. In the threegame series against Charleston, she went 2-6 at the plate. While none of her at-bats have resulted in hits, Cancel has been taking better swings and she’s worked the count.

This loss from the Pride not only snapped their six-game win streak but also caused them to fall to the sixth seed in the CAA, where they will play Stony Brook University in the first round of the CAA tournament. The Pride got swept by Stony Brook three weeks ago on their home field.

The Long Island showdown is set for Wednesday, May 8, at 2:30 p.m. in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Rob Cuni / Hofstra Athletics

Hofstra finished conference play under .500 for the third time in four years.

Photo courtesy of Antonio Gimmarino Jr / Hofstra Athletics

This was the tenth shutout the Pride suffered this season.

By Olivia Hillestad SPORTS EDITOR

When he was growing up, Andrew Fantucchio dreamed of being a professional athlete just like every other little boy from Boston. From the land of the Red Sox and the Patriots, he grew up listening to sports talk radio shows and bonded with his father over their shared love of sports.

“I wasn’t super into the Bruins as a young kid,” Fantucchio said. “But my dad had old hockey gear in the house, and I remember putting that on and I would pretend to be a hockey player. And my room upstairs, that’d be like the locker room. And I’d put on all the of the gear and I walked through the house like I was getting ready to go out on the ice.”

Like many, Fantucchio’s dreams of going pro faded away as he grew up. Despite that, they never fully left his heart.

Just a few short years ago, Fantucchio was working at a Dave & Buster’s and attending Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Massachusetts. He started a podcast with his friends, but while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fantucchio found a new passion in writing.

“It’s like a puzzle, weaving that thread throughout each little paragraph, each word,” Fantucchio said. “How do you want the reader to feel when they hit a period at the end of a paragraph, at the sentence? I love all of that.”

Deciding he wanted to challenge himself, Fantucchio

SPORTS

Senior Send-off: Living his ‘what-if’

looked into transferring schools and ended up at Hofstra University in the fall of 2021. He got involved in The Hofstra Chronicle and WRHU, working up the ranks at breakneck speed.

“I think I just took on so much with such … aggression isn’t the right word, but I had this, you know, ‘go get it’ kind of attitude,” Fantucchio said.

“It was the first time in my life that I was allowed to pursue the things I wanted … It felt good, kind of like this is my time now. And I want to do with it what I want, so I wasn’t going to waste it.”

Fantucchio quickly became a sports editor for the Chronicle

considers to be one of the most important pieces he has written so far: “Wear it with Pride: The legacy of Nick Colleluori,” the story of the late Colleluori and the men’s lacrosse team. The story combined Fantucchio’s love for feature writing and his mission to make an impact through his work.

“We only have one life, and there’s like, ‘Oh, you only live once, go live it up and party,’” Fantucchio said. “No, it’s ‘make sure your life means something.’ Make sure there’s an impact. Make sure there’s some sort of value and that doesn’t mean fame or fortune. It just means like, okay, you had a purpose

always been sort of like our common ground and the thing we could relate to the most, and to share that moment with him and to know like, okay, I’m doing it for him, in a sense.

“Don’t be afraid of the ‘what-if.’ Don’t be afraid to push yourself and challenge yourself and try something new, even if some people think it’s stupid.”

and a producer for shows at WRHU. He covered the Hofstra baseball team as a beat reporter, infamously delivering 20-to-30page reports each week.

During his time with the Pride, Fantucchio wrote what he

behind everything you did.”

At WRHU, Fantucchio also worked as a producer for the Islanders radio network, which eventually lead to his current job as beat reporter for National Hockey Now. The job was more than just a step forward in his career – in a way, it was a thank-you to his younger self who dreamed of making it to the big leagues and those who helped him get there.

“I remember when I got my current position to cover the Islanders as a full-time beat reporter,” Fantucchio said. “I mean, I cried. I called my father when I got the job, and the second that I heard his voice, I just wept. Because it was like, he’s sacrificed so much to help me get to where I am now. And sports have

Because he always had to put his life and his needs behind someone else’s. And I guess in a way, this is my way of maybe paying him back and making sure that doesn’t happen to me.”

Fantucchio is endlessly humble, never complaining and always happy to lend an ear. He can regularly be seen handing out advice to fellow journalism students, meeting with them to go over stories and listening to packages. For him, checking in on how someone is doing is second nature.

While he accomplished a lot in his time here at Hofstra and will remember the moments that moved him forward in his career, that’s not what he’s thinking about as he approaches graduation.

“I’m going to remember all the people,” Fantucchio said.

“It’s the people, you know? I’m not gonna remember what I learned in class; I’m gonna remember the people. It’s meeting my best friend … it’s meeting my girlfriend … it’s meeting people who I think I see myself in and helping them bring that out of them.”

For those who have had the pleasure of meeting Fantucchio, his graduation is bittersweet. He may be dreading his departure, but people know he will go on to do incredible things. His parting advice is something he needed to hear growing up and something he lives by every day.

“Don’t be afraid of the ‘whatif,’” Fantucchio said. “Don’t be afraid to push yourself and challenge yourself and try something new, even if some people might think it’s stupid. Some people might think that it’s not worth trying. It is, because you don’t know what you’ll take out of it. You might fail, it might blow up in your face, but you’ll learn something from it. Don’t be afraid of the person you might become because that’s allowing you to discover a new side of yourself. I’ve been able to discover a lot about myself over the last few years. You are the company you keep, and I wouldn’t be who I am without all the people I meet here.”

Andrew Fantucchio / The Hofstra Chronicle

Andrew Fantucchio / The Hofstra Chronicle

By Nick Mongiovi STAFF WRITER

Becca Vaillancourt thriving in her swan song

When Hofstra University’s softball head coach, Adrienne Clark, arrived to the Pride’s dugout as the skipper in 2022, she was quick to get catcher Becca Vaillancourt to Long Island for the 2023 season after she found out Vaillancourt hit the transfer portal.

“I remembered her in her initial recruiting process, while I necessarily wasn’t a part of recruiting her, the organization that she played for when I was at Purdue, we were recruiting some people from,” Clark said. “I was already familiar with her play, and when she went into the portal, I recognized the name and reached out to her travel coaches who had nothing but amazing things to say about her. When we met and she came on campus, we had some pretty honest dialogue about what she was looking for. I knew pretty quickly in our in-person interactions that she was going to be an incredible asset to the program; the way she carried herself, her intuitiveness and her eagerness to work and put the work in is what stood out most to me.”

Not to perpetuate the cliché, but recruitment comes down to approach. There are athletes that would rather have the individual success over the team’s collective success; think of MVP awards over the World Series rings. Vaillancourt is all about the latter – when she transferred from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, she entered the transfer portal with

one specific goal in mind.

“I knew that I could play in a better conference and play at a higher level, so I left wanting to compete for a championship,” Vaillancourt said. “I wanted to play on a team that had a shot at winning and going to a regional.”

A .316 batter at UMass Lowell across two seasons translated to a .313 batting average in her two years with the Pride, slashing .369/.417/.638 this season. She’s also added nine home runs to her credit, second-most in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). No, we’re not going back on what we said about her game not being about personal achievements.

“I wanted to hit five home runs when I got here and I did that, but I also wanted to win a championship and we did that as well,” Vaillancourt said. “Since this year is my senior year, I wanted to leave it all out there on the field. This is probably the last time I’m ever going to play softball. Knowing that, I don’t want to have any regrets at the end of the day and that I went out there every game and did my best.”

Vaillancourt’s batting average has jumped roughly 60 points from her first year in 2023 to this season in 2024, and it’s thanks to regular dates with the batting cage in her pursuit of a perfect swing.

“I think I hit off a tee every single day [in the offseason] or was in a cage with my dad throwing me front-toss,” Vaillancourt said. “I knew that there were big shoes to fill after losing big bats in our lineup

from last year, and I knew I had to step up, so there was some pressure-slash-motivation. If something didn’t feel right one day, I would fix it the next and make little adjustments that would add up over time to make my swing feel more like my swing. Somebody needed to step up, and I knew that I was going to be that person, I wanted to be that person. If that meant I had to hit off a tee over winter break and swing every day, then that’s what I was going to do.”

It all started in Tiverton, Rhode Island when Vaillancourt was six years old. With her dad being a huge baseball fan and her older brother playing baseball, she wanted to start playing as soon as she could so she could play with her brother. Catching, however, wasn’t the first menu item.

“I tried pitching once and I walked 12 batters, and my dad said, ‘I think you need to try something else,’” Vaillancourt said. “I wanted to be involved in everything; I always wanted to be touching and throwing the ball, so I’ve been catching since I was seven or eight years old.”

In short, Vaillancourt has a heavy bat, especially so if looking at this season. But what’s even bigger is something that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet: her bonds and leadership on the field. A pitcher’s best friend is their catcher, and Vaillancourt made it a priority to make unbreakable bonds with her pitchers.

“That’s the most important part,” Vaillancourt said, stressing the importance of trust and confidence between catcher and pitcher. “If there’s no trust or confidence between the two, then nothing is going to work. The pitcher isn’t going to feel comfortable, the defense won’t feel comfortable and then errors happen. That is, by far, the most important part of being a catcher is building that relationship with your pitcher; knowing what works, what they like to throw and when they like to throw it. If you don’t know those things, I don’t know if you could ever truly be in a good spot as a team.”

“Becca has a photographic

memory where she can take things at face value without any emotion,” Clark said. “When she comes in after an inning or when we’re talking about pitches or she’s talking to the pitchers, she’s honest with them in her feedback of like, ‘Hey, that pitch didn’t really move’ or ‘Hey, you didn’t hit that spot. If you could get it a little more outside you would’ve been fine there.’ It’s this ability to not get emotional about it or not get on someone for mistakes being made; it’s more of a support system and even an acknowledgement of when she needs to be a little bit better.”

Catchers touch the ball on just about every play. Vaillancourt gained more of Clark’s trust to call pitches in the middle of the 2023 season.

“The way that she shows up every day, there’s never a doubt,” Clark said. “She is so consistent in her behaviors and how she shows up it makes it easy to trust. I have the tendencies as a coach, and I’ve learned this year that I kind of trust blindly a little bit – not all of the time, but I really do believe in our players. If they’re confident in what they’re doing, then it’s a win-win. Be confident making the mistakes, be confident succeeding, all of it. With her, it’s easy because there’s very few times that she shows up and doesn’t have a good mindset with her preparation. Very rarely does she show up unable to take feedback. When you show up with those behaviors and you’re consistent in them, it makes it easy for your coach and teammates to trust.”

Vaillancourt saw how her

on-field presence could expand beyond the connection between herself and whoever is in the circle and took the dive of becoming a leader this season.

“I look back at myself freshman year and I remember what my upperclassmen were like,” Vaillancourt said. “I get to be that same role model and mentor to the younger girls, but now I get to take what they taught me and build off of that. Our freshmen are so great, they’re like sponges; they will take everything and soak it all in and it’s so great because I wasn’t like that my freshman year. Everybody is truly amazing.”

“She’s really turned a corner for herself,” Clark said. “I think she is leading through her physical play, and I’ve started to see her use her voice a little bit more and holding others accountable and supporting others in a different kind of way. I don’t know that that comes natural to her because she’s more of an introverted person in nature, so seeing her step out of her comfort zone and lead in additional ways outside of her play have been really impactful to our team this year.”

Now, it’s time for Vaillancourt to lock in. She came here to win a championship, and while this is something already checked off on her to-do list, this year’s playoffs are around the corner, as she looks to capture her second title in Hempstead.

Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman / Hostra Athletics Batting .369, Vaillancourt has the third highest average in the CAA.

Photo courtesy of Matteo Bracco / Hostra Athletics Becca Vaillancourt is slashing .369/.417/.638 this season.

SPORTS

Sorelle Ineza leaves a lasting impact on and off the court

By Frankie DiCalogero SPORTS EDITOR

Sorella Ineza has undoubtedly left a lasting impact on the Hofstra University women’s basketball program. On and off the court, she has been a shining light for all those who have gotten to know and play with her.

“When you say her name, I just immediately think of her smiling face,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “She’s always smiling, she’s always so positive, she’s always just wanting to put a smile on other people’s faces and wanting to bring light into any situation.”

From the moment she stepped onto campus at Hofstra, Ineza knew that this would be the place she’d call home for the considerable future. She noted that Hofstra has been a blessing for her personally and professionally.

“When I came here for my visit as a freshman, I just felt like as soon as I stepped on campus that I was meant to be here; I just felt at home right away,” Ineza said. “And now ever since I’ve been here, I’ve grown so much as a person, as a basketball player, as a woman; in every area of my life I’ve seen growth. All the people that I’ve been able to meet and connect with, build a relationship with them; everybody’s been so helpful in my development, academically and on the basketball court, but also professionally, and I feel like I’m leaving Hofstra with all the tools necessary to be successful.”

The leap to Hempstead, New York, was a transitional period for Ineza, as the Hofstra star came into the program as a Canadian prospect from the hometown of Langueuil, Quebec. Ineza highlighted some of the biggest differences she faced when coming to the United States.

“At first it was a cultural shock, moving from Canada to the U.S. I feel like the people in Canada, there’s this narrative that Canadians are very nice, and Americans are kind of rude, and I did experience that

at first – like Americans were kinda rude, but not at Hofstra,”

Ineza said. “Here, I feel like the people are so amazing and so welcoming and loving, but the adjustment was mostly just getting used to the people.”

Ineza joined the program in the 2019-2020 season. She was named on the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) All-Rookie Team, leading the Pride in minutes played with 32.1 per game, scoring eight points per contest and shot 37% from the floor. Ineza also led the team in assists and steals per game.

Her inaugural season in a Hofstra jersey was a successful one and is a chapter of her career that gave her a push in the right direction of competing at a high level.

“I learned my freshman year that I belong in the CAA,”

Ineza said. “In the sense of like, I had a great freshman year personally, so that set the tone and the mindset of knowing I have what it takes to compete in this conference and compete against the best.”

ever before, as she was named Hofstra’s Female Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year.

“It was hard, obviously, because that was, like, my first big injury, having surgery and all that stuff,” Ineza said. “It was hard but also very rewarding because that year was really where I took time to myself and really took the time to understand who I am outside of basketball, what I like, what I want to do in my future, develop my leadership from another point of view.”

Santos also recognized her strength during that time.

“I think the biggest thing you saw from her during that time was just her drive and

head coach, I know I didn’t recruit you, but I want you to come here, and if you like it, you can stay, and if you don’t, then you can leave,’” Ineza said. “So, she really made me feel comfortable from the jump, and I had a good vibe from her, good feeling about me being at Hofstra. She really treated me like her own, like she had recruited me from the jump.”

Ineza and Santos liken their relationship to one of family, building a personal relationship beyond the game of basketball.

This year, in Ineza’s final goaround, she dealt with adversity, having an up-and-down stretch throughout the season. Even with that, she continued to stay positive and be a strong voice on the team until her final game in a Hofstra uniform. She embarked on what this final journey with the program was like.

“She’s always smiling, she’s always so positive, she’s always just wanting to put a smile on other people’s faces and wanting to bring light into any situation.”

Ineza also credited former Hofstra player and teammate Jaylen Hines for guiding her in her journey.

“She took me under her wings and really helped me understand what I need to do in order to be successful in this conference,” Ineza said. “She was a great player here at Hofstra, did a lot of great things for this conference and it was very helpful having her be that role model for me.”

Coming off a successful first season individually, Ineza had high hopes heading into the second campaign. However, she was redshirted for the season due to an injury. Despite the unforeseen circumstances, Ineza took the injury as an opportunity to grow and work harder than

her consistency,” Santos said. “When you’re out and injured it can be isolating, you can get discouraged, you could get down, but I thought she stayed really positive throughout that journey and throughout that process. She continued to push, and as opposed to just being sad and having a pity party, she really took those feelings and emotions and took them toward a drive that helped her come back to the court even better than she left.”

Ineza’s relationship with her head coach has been strong ever since their first encounter. Santos rejoined the program in the 2019-2020 season, the same year that Ineza committed to the Pride. Despite Ineza’s original recruitment trail being in doubt after the coaching change, she quickly gravitated toward Santos.

“When she got hired as the head coach, she called me and was like, ‘Hey, I’m the new

“Over the years she stayed the same; she checked up on me during my injury sophomore year, cooked for me, bought me food, like, did all that stuff, and every little thing that I needed she did,” Ineza said. “And basketball wise, she never let me be mediocre, she always pushed me to be my best. Off the court, she put me in situations to grow in my professional development. So, I was involved in SAC, I was a part of the Pride Leadership Academy, I was able to go to several forums like the Current Sports Forum in Indianapolis. I had an internship with Madison Square Garden. She set me up for success, and that’s a relationship I really cherish, and I know it’s gonna keep growing over the years now. Even when I leave, I still love her; she’s still my coach.”

“We appreciate her so much, just as a family,” Santos said. “I’ve got three little ones and they’re always talking about ‘So-So, So-So, where’s SoSo.’ They love her ... She’s a good one, and I would love for my children to look up to her and see she’s not just a great basketball player, she’s a great human in general, and the values her parents and her family have instilled in her will make her successful.”

“But one thing that we hopped on is being resilient and being like, we got to keep going,” Ineza said. “Of course, emotional with this being my last year, but we achieved so much as a team and that was emotional to see the growth and resiliency we went through.”

Ineza also described the culture of the Hofstra women’s basketball program, hoping to share wisdom with any future player.

“Obviously, the goal is to win championships, but also build a championship program,” Ineza said. “How we do that is through our core values, honesty, hard work, discipline, enthusiasm and family. It’s not just to win games on the court but also off the court, and impacting people’s lives through camps, community service and all that stuff.”

As her graduation quickly approaches, Ineza is excited for what’s to come and has a bright future on the horizon.

“For me, I’m moving to Indianapolis, and I’ve been accepted into the postgraduate internship program with the NCAA,” Ineza said. “So, working with them, communications, brand strategies, scores and special projects, so I’m very excited for that.

There is no doubt in the minds of the Hofstra community that Ineza will leave another positive and loving impact in Indianapolis and beyond.

THE HOFSTRA CHRONICLE

Hofstra’s quest to defend CAA title begins with tournament opener against Stony Brook.

Photo courtesy of Matteo Bracco / Hofstra Athletics