THE Volume 94, Issue 2
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UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924
September 6, 2016
Boyce Avenue Headlines Quadstock to Start Semester
www.mcquad.org
Smaller Freshman Class Arrives on Campus Haley Burnside & Stephen Zubrycky Staff Writer & Editor
See Page 7 Students gather on the quad to listen to Boyce Avenue perform the annual Quadstock concert. Leony Anne McKeown/The Quadrangle
Make MC Safe (Again?) - A Quad Staff Member Op-Ed Tori James Staff Writer
Editor’s Note: Several resident assistants were quoted anonymously in this oped, some of their names have been changed to protect their jobs and identities. As part of Opening Weekend, incoming freshmen as well as transfer students are required to attend a “Fundamentals for First Year Students” presentation. Some methods of this presentation caused a lot of frustration among various members of the student body. This presentation is a legal requirement for the school, where they teach about sexual assault and violence on campus. Sexual assault on college campuses has been a pressing issue after the exposure of Title IX misconduct, and has been made stronger after the passing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Manhattan College, on the other hand, took an approach that seemed inconsistent with its Lasallian values and showed an overall disregard for student health and safety. The first problem presented itself as soon as students entered the Kelly Commons Great Room, and found a leaflet entitled “10 Things You Need to Know About Sexual Assault” divided on both sides by “for men” and “for women” - immediately
presenting these heinous crimes as gendered experiences. On the women’s side, “Things to Know” included always watching your drink, keeping your cell phone charged, staying with groups of friends, and always making sure someone knows where you are. The men, on the other hand, were told to know the definition of sexual assault, not to assume their date wants to have sex with them, understand that consenting to one act does not mean consenting to another, and to “remember that date rape is a crime that has serious consequences.” The last tip for the women’s side tells females to “report it right away, don’t clean up, change clothes or tamper with the evidence.” The last tip for the men is to “be aware that men can be victims of sexual assault,” and simply says to “seek help immediately.” The men are not given the protocol that should be adhered to following assault. “I’m concerned that they focused on the idea that guys are predators and girls are victims,” said a resident assistant who wished to be called Rick. Both sides have a tip regarding saying “no.” Seeing as assault is not a gendered experience, one would think that these tips would be the same. However, the women’s sides tells females that they have a “right to say ‘no’ no matter what.” The men’s side
says to “understand that ‘no’ means ‘no’ no matter what,” insinuating that it’s never men who have to set the boundary, they are the ones who need to be told “no.” Despite the fact that Manhattan College did not make this infographic, by distributing it to the incoming students - all brand new to the college environment they are certainly responsible. All of these tips are important, but by separating it by gender, they furthered the idea that men are always the perpetrators and the job of a woman is to not get raped. Everyone needs know what the definition of consent is. Everyone needs to know their right to say no, and to listen when someone else says no. Everyone needs to know the protocol in the event that they are a victim. And everyone needs to know to be smart and safe about their decisions The problems didn’t stop there. Dean Michael Carey was primarily in charge of presenting this information to our incoming students. The presentation included phrases such as, “alcohol is always involved,” “if you want to make yourself vulnerable to sexual assault, get drunk or high,” and “sexual misconduct has never happened during the day.” I requested to speak with Dean Carey for a comment on the presentation. He has not responded. Continued on page 2
Manhattan College enrolled about 820 new freshmen in 2016, according to data provided to The Quadrangle through email by Caitlin Read, executive director of admissions and enrollment operations. This year’s enrollment figures represent a 9.4-percent decline in enrollment from 2015. The slump in enrollment is paired with an acceptance rate of 71.4-percent, an increase of 4.3-percentage points from last year’s applicant pool. Of these 820 new freshmen, Residence Life is currently putting a roof over 607, or 74-percent of the class, according to figures provided by Andrew Weingarten, the director of the department. The size of the new class has afforded the department a bit more wiggle room in the residence halls, which now collectively sit at 98-percent capacity. “Last year was a big class, but we’re at 98-percent capacity now,” Weingarten said. “We’re in the same situation. The college residence halls are full from year-to-year now and we’re in the same situation… it’s not that easy. You can’t just go solve a problem by expecting to change rooms or change buildings, because we’re pretty full.” Last September, the residence halls were at 99.7-percent capacity, according to reporting from The Quadrangle. This year’s resident freshmen are particularly active on campus in common-interest and living-learning communities. Arches, the living-learning community composed entirely of freshmen living on the bottom four floors of Lee Hall is home to roughly 157 residents - roughly matching the pace of last year’s enrollment, which set a record for the program. “It’s kind of cool having classes of entirely Arches kids living in the same building,” Rebecca Lowe, an Arches resident, said. This year, Arches students arrived two days before most of the other freshmen, and participated in activities at Chelsea Piers and Coney Island. The bonding experience between students is one of the biggest draws to the program for incoming students like Lowe and her Arches classmate Tondreanna Esquilin. “There’s a lot of positive energy. It’s very diverse and we’re all getting along quite well,” Esquilin said. Freshmen enrollment in the other, newer common-interest communities, such as the entrepreneurship and the Spanish language Nuestra Casa communities in Horan Hall is also large. Freshmen this year make up about half of all students in these communities. Mostly freshmen communities have been formed by Residence Life in Chrysostom Hall (which is freshmen exclusively), Continued on page 3