Issue 2, Fall 2016 - The Quadrangle

THE Volume 94, Issue 2

Q

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

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The

opinions & editorials

Quadrangle www.mcquad.org

Vol. 94 Issue 2 Sept. 6, 2016

Ally Hutzler Editor-in-Chief Sean Sonnemann Managing Editor Anthony Capote News Editor Kyleigh Panetta Jack Melanson Asst. News Editors Kieran Rock Features Editor/Managing Editor Tara Marin Asst. Features Editor Lindsey Burns Arts & Entertainment Editor Victoria Hernández Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Daniel Ynfante Sports Editor RikkiLynn Shields Asst. Sports Editor Kristie Killen Social Media Editor Taylor Brethauer Asst. Social Media Editor Vanessa Sanchez Photography Editor Leony Anne McKeown Asst. Photography Editor Kelly Burns Abbi Kirollos Production Editors Daniel Molina Stephen Zubrycky Web Editors

Continued from page 1 First and foremost, while alcohol certainly can play a role in sexual assault, it is not always present, and regardless it is never an excuse for these kind of behaviors. A person drinking is never setting themselves up to be assaulted, and being drunk is not an excuse for committing assault.

Saying that getting drunk is setting yourself up to be assaulted is like saying that wearing certain clothing is “asking for it,” ultimately avoiding the fact we should be teaching people to not rape, rather than how to not get raped.

“If you include cat-calling under the definition of sexual misconduct, then reports of students being harassed from a car while leaving the presentation at 4 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon clearly didn’t happen, as ‘these things don’t happen during the day,’” said a Susie, an RA who wished to remain anonymous.

Multiple times throughout this presentation, Dean Carey emphasized the fact was including certain topics because “we’re required to.” Regardless of the fact that the school is actually legally required to do this, presenting this information as something they had to do makes it seem to students that it was something they didn’t want to do.

“Dean Carey, the way he went about it didn’t sound at all enthusiastic about how strong of a policy it is at school. His tone was very passive,” said senior resident assistant Morgan Seger. “Do you even really care that one out of four women get assaulted on a college campus? You’re looking at a room of at least one hundred students who would be assaulted in this presentation.”

Making sexual assault seem like just another student life presentation minimizes the importance of keeping the student body safe. Some would even say that the school takes plagiarism as a more serious violation than sexual assault, often with more serious penalties and repercussions years down the line.

Carey claims that many of these legal requirements are unnecessary for our school because of its Lasallian nature.

Clearly, since we already have “respect” on our campus, sexual assault won’t happen, making the Student Bill of Rights just another requirement that is more suited towards “bigger schools.”

But it seems as if this ignores every aspect of what being a Lasallian institution encompases.

“A fundamental aspect of being Lasallian is respect for all persons. By treating

the safety of these students as a requirement because of the law and not a priority because of the very nature of their existence, Manhattan College seems to have violated its own Lasallian principles,” Susie said.

Because, as much as we hate to admit it, sexual assault is a thing that happens on all college campuses, and ignoring it just creates an even bigger issue.

“There was no sincerity or attentiveness to how serious these circumstances are. If you truly believe this issue on campus is a serious one, then find someone who is serious about it to present to the students. If you’re not passionate about it, then what’s the point? It’s just time wasted,” Seger said.

Part of the legal stipulation for training all incoming students is the caveat that if a school receiving federal funding does not comply, they will lose their federal funding. With the emphasis that this is only a requirement, it makes students feel as though their safety is a concern only once money is involved -- that “we are dollar signs, not students.”

“This school raised me. I’m stepping into adulthood with this school and I put so much stock into it and I take everything to heart here, and they made it apparent today that they don’t care,” stated a senior resident assistant who wishes to be called Jonathan.

The reason that schools tend to deny the existence of sexual assault on their campuses is that it is bad publicity. If an assault makes its way into the media, the administration thinks this reflects poorly on them.

“The school wants their image to be of good Catholic kids who do not have sex, period — consensual or otherwise,” said Susie.

Admissions offices are understandably terrified that an allegation in the news will result in a drop in applications to the college. After all, what parent in their right mind would send their child to a school where rapes occur?

“When I look at my residents, I don’t see someone sitting in a residence hall; I see a person with a past and a future. I see someone’s child. Someone dropped their kid off at school and entrusted me with their safety. How can I sit here in good faith and say as a Catholic, an RA, and a student that I support these ideas because I can’t and I won’t stand for it,” Jonathan said.

Though many declined to comment, resident assistants required to attend the presentation were horrified at the content and delivery by Dean Carey. On the plus

Sept. 6, 2016

side, Residence Life has clearly hired staff that are able to recognize fault in the teachings of this presentation that in some cases violate their own training.

“I have so much to say about this presentation and the emotions and anger it invoked in me,” stated another anonymous resident assistant, Maria. “It makes me even more frustrated that I can’t say and do all that I want to, for fear of losing a job and a reputation I have worked hard for and earned. Throughout history, systems in place that harm or do not protect the people they are supposed to be protecting have relied on exactly what Manhattan is relying on -- those with a voice, passion, and power have the most to lose.”

The other anonymous RAs quoted throughout this article expressed similar sentiments.

“The freshman are going to think it’s not big of a deal because it was presented to them as not a big deal,” stated Seger. “It’s terrifying, as an RA to all freshman, I don’t feel like my job as an RA is enough. I want to leave this college knowing the freshman residents I’ve had under my wing are safe and can properly assess a situation about sexual assault, but without any education or information given to them blatantly, how will they know what to do or where to go?”

“There was a total disregard for the resources you can go to on campus. They did not even mention RAs as a person you can go to following a sexual assault. We are the people on the front line for these events and they totally disregarded us as people you can go to,” said Rick.

Students are fed up. The last four years has seen a revolution in sexual assault policy, and while MC is compliant, the manner in which they do so remains as problematic as ever.

“I was saying this three years ago, you’re saying it now, and someone will sadly be saying it three years from now,” said Matt an alumnus resident assistant who also wished to remain anonymous.

“Students are not asking for much. We are simply asking for you to listen to us.

We are asking you to recognize that we are people, created by God, with legitimate security concerns that need to be addressed.

We are asking that you put more effort than what is legally required of you into protecting your students from harm, so as to actually reflect the Lasallian values we should strive to uphold,” Susie said.

We ask that the administration of the college that we love so dearly to create and help foster an environment we we are fighting so hard to protect.

Tom Callahan Faculty Adviser

A tradition since 1924, The Quadrangle is a news organization run by the students of Manhattan College. We strive to cover news around campus and the greater community, publishing weekly in print and daily online. Our goal is always accuracy, relevancy and professionalism.

The staff of The Quadrangle meets every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. in room 412 of the Student Commons.

Contact The Quadrangle at thequad@manhattan.edu The opinions expressed in The Quadrangle are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the College or the student body.

Patrick Estanbouli/The Quadrangle

News

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New Student Government Begins Work on Campus Ally Hutzler & Victoria Hernandez Editors

Student Body President Dorian Persaud and his executive board will begin work this semester as the newly elected leaders of student government after a tight election held at the end of last semester.

While some members will be returning to their previously held positions, Persaud is just one new face among many in this year’s student government.

“I would describe the [executive board] as overachievers. We are really trying to change a lot of stuff on campus and introduce new things as well,” Persaud said.

“We want to leave our mark and have people continue work from there.”

Over the summer, student government has already begun working on new policies and making amendments on their internal structure. So far, Persaud has had complete support from the administration.

“There was a lot of transparency. I had very fast response time, and I used to work

in the President’s office so I know exactly which administrator to go and talk to,” Persaud said.

During their first few weeks in office, student government has already created a commuter meal plan.

“It is the first time Manhattan College has had a commuter meal plan, so that’s fun,” Persaud said.

There are two types of meal plans: the 333 or 555. For $300, students can purchase the 333 meal plan, which includes 330 dining dollars with a 10-percent bonus on spending and a 10 percent discount whenever you buy something on campus.

This meal plan also comes with three swipes in Locke’s Loft. For $500, students can purchase the 555 meal plan, which includes 550 dining dollars and five swipes in Locke’s Loft.

“The last time I checked, between 40 and 50 people have signed up for these commuter meal plans,” Persaud said.

Over the summer, student government also revised parts of their constitution as well as changed the name for some of the roles found in the organization. For exam-

ple, instead of having class representatives there will now be two vice presidents for each class. The reason for the change, according to Persaud, is to motivate students to get more involved and to acknowledge the amount of work that is done by these individuals.

A major goal of student government moving forward is to increase their presence on campus, something students agree needs to be worked on.

“They should have more contact with the actual students, not many people know who they are and what they do so they should ask students what they want instead of just making activities without actually knowing what the whole student body prefers,” sophomore Maria de Francisco said.

Student government used to hold office hours for students who had questions or wanted to get involved, but Persaud wants to discontinue that in favor of more social media outreach, increasing their presence on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.

“I also want to set up an online forum like ‘Ask Student Government’ where stu-

dents can go ask us any questions and we will answer them,” Persaud said.

Some other goals for student government are to bring back Movies on the Quad, revive the tradition of Dorm Wars and to make people more aware of the presence of Greek life on campus.

Senior Erica Rebussini hopes that student government will find a way to enhance school pride on campus.

“Things like Quadstock and Springfest … really pumping those events because sometimes the energy is not where it could be. And maybe promoting Jasper culture,” Rebussini said.

Persaud, who is also a residence assistant in Chrysostom Hall, says that his leadership will grow out of what it is like to work directly with students not only on an academic basis but also on a personal level.

“I have that background to understand what students want or need to see in the school,” he said. “So keeping that personability in general helps people stay open and talk about what they want to see on campus,” Persaud said.

ber 12 at 5pm in the Great Room Martin O’Malley on Thursday, October 13 at 5pm in the Great Room Reeve, the son of movie star Christopher Reeve, will be speaking about his business adapttoys.org which makes toys accessible to those living with paralysis.

Miller, chief of the Air Force Reserve, will focus on her time working in the military as a woman. The talk is expected to interest those in the ROTC program.

Collins, a retired NBA basketball player, will be speaking about his time playing in the NBA as the first openly gay player.

He recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

“We started with a huge wish list with people from all walks of life. Two of the names we really wanted were Will Reeve and Jason Collins,” said director of Student Engagement, John Bennett.

To begin October, Sami El-Yousef, as

a suggestion of Brother Jack Curran and the Office of Missions, will be giving a talk titled “Christian Presence in the Holy Land”.

Wrapping up the entire series will be Martin O’Malley, a visiting religious studies professor, who will be giving a talk titled “The Guilt of Historical Injustice”. All of the talks will be focusing on different aspects of diversity.

“The theme this year is inclusivity.

Every one of these speakers is going to be talking about that, it’s the overarching message,” said Bennett.

The Lecture Series is an important part of the Manhattan College community and something the students of the college look forward to. Bennett said, “there’s weight to the name of the Lecture Series. Students have come to expect it every fall and [the Office of Student Engagement] takes pride in that. They expect it like a spring concert

in April.”

While last year’s event spanned just one week, this year’s series will run over the course of a month from September to October.

In order to ensure the greatest turnout to this year’s event, the Office worked to find the time that a majority of students would be available.

Three of the lectures will be taking place in the afternoon and two will take place at 5 pm, so that both resident and commuter students will be able to attend.

“We heard from some students that there are too many events in the beginning and there’s sort of a drop-off,” Bennett said.

“Other students have also said that they are too late in the evening so commuter students wouldn’t be able to attend, so we’ve made more of them in the afternoon and early evening.”

Fifth Annual Lecture Series Speakers Announced Taylor Brethauer Asst. Editor

Manhattan College’s 5th Annual Lecture Series will be kicking off on September 8. These talks have been a staple in the fall semester of the school year.

Notable speakers in the past have included Nastia Liukin as part of the Olympic Week Series and Bethenny Frankel from The Real Housewives of New York.

The Office of Student Engagement announced the speakers for this year’s event: Will Reeve on Thursday, September 8 at 12 noon in the Great Room Lieutenant General Maryanne Miller on Friday, September 9, 10 am in the Scala Room Jason Collins on Thursday, September 22 at 1pm in the Great Room Sami El-Yousef on Wednesday, Octo-

Smaller Freshman Class Arrives on Campus in 2016 Haley Burnside & Stephen Zubrycky Staff Writer & Editor

Continued from page 1 and on the lower floors of Horan.

Other freshmen are scattered amongst upperclassmen on the top floors of Horan and Lee, as well as in Jasper Hall.

The new are freshmen are finding their place in the college community, including new Margarita Corado, a mechanical engineering engineering major who commutes from Mott Haven, The Bronx.

“I like Manhattan College, because of the family environment,” Corado said.

Continuing students are also doing their best to ease the transition for the new freshmen, and many are excited to see the class’ potential unlocked over their next four years at the college.

“The [freshman] class presents a lot of new potential and I’m happy to see what they can offer to the college,” said Dorian Persaud, MC’s student body president.

The admissions office will release final data on the new freshman class in October, following the census.

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news

Sept. 6, 2016

Student Activities Changes Name to Office of Student Engagement Sean Sonnemann & Alyssa Velazquez Editor & Staff Writer

Students looking to buy a ticket last week for the weekend’s Mets game and trip to Six Flags Amusement Park might not have noticed the strips of paper covering some of the door signs on the fourth floor of the Student Commons.

Those sheets of paper displayed the new name of the Manhattan College office formerly known as Student Activities. Now the Office of Student Engagement, this summertime rebranding was done in part to ensure that the office was not defined as just a source of discounted tickets to sporting events and shows around the city.

“A lot of people on campus don’t realize the scope of the office and what we actually do on a day-to-day basis. So the name change will hopefully bring light to everything that we’ve done,” John Bennett, director of student engagement (née activities) said.

As Bennett also explained in a letter to the editor published in The Quadrangle last week, the name change came about as a result of an external review of his office this past year.

The external review process, which includes examination of policies and interviews with staff members, is common practice among the various offices on campus and usually takes place for a few offices each year.

“Based on their [the reviewers’] conclusions and the data they looked at and the whole nine yards, they really felt that this scope of our office was much greater than what we were pigeon-holed to be,” Bennett said.

Those reviewers included colleagues from another institution, as well as Manhattan College Dean of Students Michael Carey, Richard Satterlee, vice president for Student Life and David Mahan, assistant provost and executive director for institutional effectiveness.

“It was completely up to us [Student Activities], the name change itself,” Bennett said. “Nothing was mandated or what have you, we thought it was a good op-

Over the summer the office formerly known as Student Activites changed their name to the Office of Student Engagement.

Sean Sonnemann/The Quadrangle portunity for us. Then we floated the ideas workshops held this fall. Also, the name were also instituted over the summer. More around internally within our office for a of Senior Week was changed to Com- subtle changes to incorporate the new name mencement Celebration, in addition to are still in the works and include ordering while, and Student Engagement stuck.”

The Office of Student Engagement other changes that students may or may not new name-tags for office staff and a new encompasses three areas of student life, notice as the year progresses according to portable photo backdrop for when guest speakers pose for pictures on campus. including Intramurals and Recreation, Per- Bennett.

However, as with any name change, Michael Martello, junior, agrees that forming Arts and Student Development (clubs, on and off-campus activities, guest the challenge for the office now is to en- the office’s new name is a better fit for their sure consistency in branding as they tran- involvement with campus life. speakers and annual events).

“The name change reflects the fact that In practice, the new name does not sition from Student Activities to Student bring any substantial changes to the of- Engagement—hence the temporary sheets the work they do is greatly influenced by fice’s responsibility or area of work within of paper covering the office’s door signs dialogue with students. I feel that is also until new ones are delivered. highlights the fact that they’re about more the college.

Over the summer, the office also than just selling tickets to students.”

The external review process did howFor others, like senior Stephen Toscano, ever lead to several smaller changes with switched its Twitter account handle, a how the office operates internally and a significant source of announcements and old habits may die hard despite the office’s few changes to events they hold around major method of communicating with stu- best intentions to rebrand themselves. dents, from @mcstudact to @mcstudent“I’m a senior. To me, it’s still going to campus. be Student Activities—just like it’s still goFor example, the leadership weekend engage.

Other easy changes such as updating ing to be East Hill Hall,” Toscano said. held last spring will now be stretched out to a series of semester long development the office’s website, letterheads and logos

Kinesiology Department Recognized by National Strength and Conditioning Association Tara Marin Asst. Editor

Manhattan College’s Kinesiology Department recently earned recognition from The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as an Education Recognition Program (ERP) which meets their educational guidelines.

This acknowledgement will allow the college to provide its kinesiology students with the coursework necessary to prepare them to become strength and conditioning specialists or personal trainers.

Tedd Keating, Ph.D, associate professor of the kinesiology department, was a part of the process that earned the department this approval from the NSCA. “The NSCA is the most respected organization internationally within the strength and conditioning profession. We have been delivering coursework and practical expe-

riences supportive of careers in this field since our inception, though the organization has begun this process of recognition in the past decade,” Keating said.

“Our exercise science curriculum provides the necessary background to become certified as a strength and conditioning specialist through this organization. Through examination of our coursework and faculty, the NSCA has essentially indicated as much,” he said.

Jeffrey Cherubini, Ph.D, chair of the kinesiology department, was also a part of this process. He said that this recognition comes with many perks for the department and its students.

“This recognition allows us to continue to provide our students with additional professional development support for reaching their career goals. Some of the benefits to our students include discounted NSCA membership, conference and certification exam fees, as well as premier access to scholarships, internships and assistant-

ships,” Cherubini said.

While Cherubini said he is pleased with this new achievement and the added benefits, he still feels most rewarded by the department itself.

“What I am most proud of as chair is the individual and collective efforts of our kinesiology faculty who day in and day out put forth the extra time and energy to ensure that our curricula, instruction and cocurricular programming are providing our students with the necessary knowledge and skills for future career success,” he said.

Amanda Jones, junior kinesiology major, plans to become a physical therapist after college and said that the recognition is very important.

“As a kinesiology major, my path includes hands on learning inside and outside of the classroom. I’ve learned a lot about health, wellness, fitness, performance and the body through my classes and summer internships,” Jones said.

As one of the many dedicated kine-

siology students within the department who will profit from this accomplishment, Jones attributes a handful of her success to the department.

“The MC kinesiology department is so wonderful because of the amazing professors who want to work with you to be successful and are extremely knowledgeable and willing to help out and explain material if we need help with a topic,” she said.

“Our department is very close-knit and friendly group of people who are determined to be leaders and help others,” Jones said.

Looking toward the future, Jones believes that she and her classmates are at an even greater advantage now that the department has earned this acknowledgement.

“The kinesiology students will benefit from our recognition from the NSCA because this provides outstanding networking opportunities, allowing students to expand their knowledge and be exposed to more certification opportunities,” Jones said.

News

Maintenance and Repairs on Campus Kyleigh Panetta Asst. Editor

During the month of August, more than 1,000 work orders were sent to Manhattan College’s physical plant, according to the department’s director, Nancy White.

White said just 784 out of the 1,362 campus work orders have been completed so far. She said some despite the large number of work orders, some have to precedence over others, based mostly on urgency.

“I know that the college’s Physical Plant department is always concerned with items relating to student health, safety and comfort,” Andrew Weingarten, director of residence life, said.

Toni Baisden, area coordinator for Lee Hall, said that a clogged toilet is one example of an essential request that would considered a top priority.

Although a blown lightbulb or broken window shades would be considered less important, Baisden said that she is concerned with anything that does not function properly.

“These things are normal wear and tear in any residential building but we understand that they are important to the living condition of a resident’s room,” Baisden said.

Ryan Bunts, area coordinator for Horan Hall, said that the most common request for Horan Hall was related to air conditioners

5

River City Cracks Down Due to Community Complaints Jack Melanson Asst. Editor

needing to be cleaned out or replaced.

“Generally the units get overworked during this time and don’t function at maximum capacity when the residents return. So some units either stop functioning or don’t get as cool as the residents would like,” Bunts said. “Issues where the AC is not functioning during hot weather, there is an issue with electricity or the fire alarm in the room take top priority.”

He also said that extermination requests are very high on his radar in Horan Hall.

Baisden said that most of the work orders she has seen in Lee Hall have been related to furniture.

Some of the most common furniture requests were for higher bed frames, left handed desks and larger armoires.

Both Baisden and Bunts want their residents to know that it is important to request repairs as soon as they are noticed instead of waiting.

Work orders can be made through MC’s Micromain work order system or direct phone calls to the Physical Plant.

“Like any building in NYC there are bound to be issues,” Bunts said. “We don’t want anyone to live in conditions that are detrimental to their success and happiness here at Manhattan College,” Bunts said.

Riverdale City Grill promised residents it would start closing earlier and cracking down on noise and underage drinking when their liquor was almost denied renewal, last month.

The decision to close at 2 a.m. came after representatives from the NYPD’s 50th Precinct suggested Community Board (CB) 8 not move to renew their license, citing a large number of noise and underage drinking complaints.

The bar’s owner, Jamie Albert, suggested closing at 2 a.m., instead of the 4 a.m. city average, in order to comply with police concerns.

“I’m open for suggestions. I will do whatever,” said Albert, when asked what her plan was to deter underage drinkers. “ I want to be in compliance with the police department.”

Special Lieutenant John Foder agreed with Albert’s suggestion of closing early, but also added that bouncers should keep out-of-state ID’s in a binder while their patrons are drinking, a policy Albert has also adopted.

“The book is probably the best way to do it. Kid’s aren’t gonna give up their fake ID because they know if we come in and find a fake ID, it’s a felony charge,” said Foder.

“That’s something that isn’t taken lightly.”

Foder added that police generally try to write the customers up for breaking the law opposed to the owners.

“We try to not write up you guys [bar owners],” Foder told Albert at the meeting.

“We try to write up the patrons with the intent to consume under 21.”

Foder described his reasoning for placing emphasis on punishing the underage drinker over the bar itself.

“If we write up you guys, you pay an extreme amount of taxes and the kid’s get nothing.” he said. “When you write the kid’s up, that usually deters them from coming back and drinking again.”

Sophomore Kate Cowling criticized the new policy, saying she thought it would cram more students onto the bar for shorter amounts of time.

“I don’t like it because I’m sure around the later hours it would clear out and be much more enjoyable,” Cowling said.

“Now it’s going to be crowded all night.”

Cowling also added that she thought the idea of keeping a binder with ID’s was poor.

“It seems very inefficient and time consuming,” said Cowling. “It also puts everyone at risk of losing their real ID’s and having them be lost in the binder.”

Anthony Capote contributed reporting

Above, some of the heating/air-conditioning units put in the trash area outside Horan Hall.

Kyleigh Panetta/The Quadrangle

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Arts & Entertainment

Sept. 6, 2016

Student Engagement Gets Tickets to Two Major Broadway Shows

Arts & Entertainment

7

Boyce Avenue Kicks Off the Semester with Quadstock Performance

Taylor Brethauer Asst. Editor

The Office of Student Engagement has two shows lined up for the fall semester and they’ll be ones you won’t want to miss out on: “Wicked” on September 17 and “School of Rock” on September 24.

Tickets for “Wicked” go on sale September 12 at 1p.m. and tickets for School of Rock go on sale September 19 at 1p.m. in the Student Engagement Office.

“Wicked,” the musical based on the book of the same name, has been on Broadway since 2003.

It tells the backstory of the famous villain, Wicked Witch of the West, before Dorothy fell into Oz. Elphaba, the real name of the Wicked Witch, wasn’t always the evil character people know her as in “The Wizard of Oz.” She went to college with her sister, Nessarose--the original owner of the ruby slippers--and Glinda the good witch way back when.

They must face their head master, Madame Morrible, and the Wizard of Oz himself as trouble grows in the city.

Full of foreshadowing alluding to Dorothy’s imminent arrival and well-known songs like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity,” this Broadway classic is one students will most definitely want to see.

It isn’t the first time the school has gotten tickets to see Wicked, but Student Engagement Director, John Bennett, knows it’s a great show that students always love.

“Wicked is such a popular show and even though we’ve gone before, it’s always fun to go again,” Bennett said.

“School of Rock,” the musical based on the movie of the same name, premiered back in December of 2015. The movie, starring Jack Black and a young Miranda Cosgrove, became the rock musical it is today thanks to the legendary Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Webber currently has three shows running on Broadway – “School of Rock,” “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera” – with talks of a fourth one being revived within the next year. With incredible credits like that, “School of Rock” will most definitely live up to the hype.

The audience meets Dewey Finn who was recently kicked out of his band and is out of a job. His roommate and roommate’s girlfriend pester him to get a job when Dewey answers a call intended for his roommate relating to a job perspective.

Now Dewey becomes Mr. Schneebly, a substitute teacher at Horace Green.

There he meets a group of fifth grade students and teaches them how to rock. The show has a nonstop energy of rocking out and standing up for what you believe in, as the cast encourages you to “Stick it to the Man” and tells you “You’re in the Band.”

This brand new show allows students to get discount tickets to a recent Tonynominated musical, something Bennett thinks will be a very cool experience.

“Students will have so much fun with it, it’s a brand new show,” Bennett said.

Deciding on tickets is a group effort.

Ideas come from student suggestions, social life and student government until there are discernible favorites.

However, the shows need to have at

Students lined the quad to hear Boyce Avenue perform this year’s Quadstock concert.

Leony Anne McKeown/The Quadrangle

Daniel Molina Editor

Taylor Brethauer/The Quadrangle least 200 tickets in group packages because of the demand by the student body for discount Broadway tickets. Choosing these shows takes many months, but no matter the show, students always end up loving it.

“I think it’s one of the reasons many of the students come here. We have such a

beautiful campus… then students can take advantage of cultural things in the city such as Broadway plays,” said Bennett.

As for future tickets, Bennett is excited for students to have another chance to see a big production on November 19, with tick-

ets to Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular.

But other Broadway shows are up in the air as of now.

“One day we’ll get Hamilton tickets, probably when it’s not cool anymore,” Bennett said.

After the unexpected late Quadstock last year, Manhattan College’s first event of the year went back to its original format this past Saturday, September 3. Despite a couple of clouds and windy gusts, around 75 students gathered in the Quad to enjoy the acoustic set performed by the guest band, Boyce Avenue.

The YouTube cover band formed by the three Manzano brothers Alejandro, Daniel and Fabian played a little bit of everything, from some classic songs like “Fast Cars”

by Tracy Chapman or “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, to some original ones like “On My

Way” and “Hear Me Now.” Students from every year attended this event organized by Student Engagement, previously Student Activities.

Audrey Sabatino, from the 2020 class, shared her experience about her first Quadstock.

“I thought it was great. I heard of them [Boyce Avenue] before, but my roommate was really into them so we all came and I really liked them. I wanna check them out now.”

But not only the new student body enjoyed the event. Olivia Smith, senior and part of the class of 2017, talked about the sensation of this one being her last fall concert at MC. “I had never listened to them before and

I thought they were awesome. It’s weird to think that it’s over but this was a good last Quadstock for me.”

After a one-hour set performed by the band, a brief Meet and Greet took place in the 5th floor of Thomas Hall, where some students were able to take a picture with them and exchange a few words.

“We love playing college shows,” Alejandro Manzano, vocalist of the band, said. “We have such fun college memories that to come back here is always cool to get that perspective again.”

But, although today they have more than 8.5 million subscribers in their channel and over 2 billion view of their videos, not everything has been easy for Boyce Avenue.

“We started performing in our local bars and pubs while we were in college,” Manzano said. “And then in 2007 is when we posted that first video in YouTube.”

Uploading videos frequently, managing a record label and touring around the world can become a hard task, and this is why they think that being together as a family is the most important and distinctive part of the band.

“As a solo artist is harder to make everything on your own,” Fabian Manzano said after being asked for an advice to anyone pursuing a music career. “Find a group of people that inspire you, find a good community and build a team that shares your ideals… your quality of life is better.”

8

Arts & Entertainment

Sept. 6, 2016

A Summer Spent Working in the Food Industry Abi Kloosterman Staff Writer

A big part of college is landing the perfect internship. This past summer, many students stayed in New York City to intern full time, or went home and got internships there.

However, there are many other ways to gain valuable experience. Instead of internships, some students work full time jobs, several part time jobs, study abroad or do research.

When that dream internship just does not work out or the $0/hr wage is not formidable to life in New York City, students find other means of making the most of their summer, while adding important experience to their resumes.

My summer job began with a networking connection. A second cousin, actually.

A good friend of his needed an assistant for the upcoming summer months. I interviewed for the job in early February, thinking that I am most definitely unqualified

as a soon-to-be junior with no New York work experience at the young age of 19.

Somehow, I got the job: the job being a personal assistant to a brilliant chef, restaurant and catering company owner.

As I correctly assumed beforehand, I knew nothing about the food industry and any superficial knowledge I had was attributed to my obsession with Anthony Bourdain.

The summer began cool and rainy. My hour-and-a-half commute to Brooklyn each day was a calming time to read, pop in headphones and think of funny oneliners about how awful the NYC Subway is for Twitter, if only I could be paid for that.

Essentially, all was calm, the job was going smoothly and the NYC summer was mild – until my boss asked me if I drove.

As a personal or administrative assistant, your job includes running errands, sending emails and doing general organizational tasks.

And sometimes your job includes

driving a catering van and delivering food to events throughout the busiest city in the United States.

While the traffic, small streets and the casual broken side mirror may seem daunting, driving in NYC was a task I never thought I would have to – or be able to – do.

I delivered to Microsoft in Times Square, Yves Saint Laurent on 5th Ave, Canali Shoes in Meatpacking and to the filming set of the show “Blue Bloods.” Pretty cool, if you ask me.

My job not only included deliveries, but also shopping – a lot of shopping. I purchased endless bags of pita bread, this vegetable/root thing called “Daikon” and enough bamboo skewers to serve appetizers to the entire island of Manhattan. During these trips I realized grocery store owners are undoubtedly some of the best people in this city.

The deliveries, 10-hour days and constant interaction with purveyors of all kinds, increased my communication skills, assertiveness and relationships with people. People who will help you out when you need 80

gluten free cupcakes in less than 12 hours.

Relationships are everything.

My summer experience went a lot differently than I had planned. I dreamt of an internship at Hearst, a larger communications company or a well-known fashion house. I applied to internships everywhere and often. The response from the majority: silence.

Doors were not slammed in my face, they frankly, did not even open up. Until that one email inquiring about my interest in some personal assistant work in the fickle, unforgiving and absolutely amazing food industry.

Hands down, my job this summer taught me more about myself and what I want to do with my life than any internship could. There is no quality that replaces hard work and a willingness to learn, observe and above all, say “yes.”

Sometimes going against the current and taking a different path, one different than the corporate internship one, pays off in big and unexpected ways. It all starts with a simple and enthusiastic, “yes.”

Kloosterman spent her summer working as a personal assistant for a chef, restuarant and catering company owner.

Abi Kloosterman/The Quadrangle

Features

9

Summer Literacy Institute Inspires Bronx Students to Attend College Kyleigh Panetta Asst. Editor

Most of Manhattan College knows Marisa Passafiume as the assistant vice president for academic success. But for 30 Bronx high schoolers, she is the mentor who reminds them that college is a tangible reality.

Passafiume runs the Summer Literacy Institute (SLI), a week long college immersion program that takes place on MC’s campus.

“The idea is to close the college achievement gap among underrepresented students in this community, here at home,” Passafiume said.

SLI allows 30 rising high school seniors to spend one week on MC’s campus, take college courses and write a college application essay.

Five years ago, a former MC professor asked Passafiume to co-direct SLI with the help of a grant from the Teagle Foundation.

The grant helped pay for these students’ expenses such as excursions into the city, food, housing, books and stipends for both professors and mentors who helped with the program.

“He sent me the information and I was in love with it,” she said.

Passafiume worked with the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC) to help recruit 30 students to apply for SLI. During the academic year, KHCC helped keep the students on the right track leading up to the program.

Then the grant ended. The Teagle Foundation didn’t have another funding cycle for SLI. Passafiume knew that SLI was working and she did not want it to end. She went straight to MC’s administration and asked for help.

Passafiume said, “This is Lasallian.

This is what Manhattan College is really about. It’s a completely selfless program just to get kids in the community thinking about college and actually seeing that they can do this.”

The administration agreed to support SLI for a few years or until a source of external funding was found.

“It’s all volunteering. The college

agreed to fund us for a few years because we don’t want to lose momentum,” Passafiume said.

Now that the grant has ended Passafiume is in charge of recruiting students, keeping the students on track with academics and following up with them when they are done with high school.

Passafiume and other professors volunteers their own time in order to do those things.

SLI students can come to MC for free SAT preparation courses taught by MC faculty, three times a week.

“Faculty and staff are volunteering to stay after 5 p.m. when they finish work.

The kids take the train from their schools in the winter and our average SAT sessions had 14 students,” Passafiume said.

She said that this is another perk that SLI students appreciate and tell their peers about which creates interest among other high schoolers.

“We have an overwhelming number of applicants. There are 100 applicants for 30 spots and that’s just through word of mouth,” she said.

According to Passafiume, every SLI student is first generation college bound and for many of them English is their second language.

“They all come from lower socioeconomic demographic. One hundred percent of the schools that they attend are free and reduced lunch schools. Kids that really have never thought college was an option.

They’ve heard it but never realized,” she said.

Passafiume wants high school students who fit these characteristics to be a part of SLI. “I don’t want the kids who are going to college anyway because they don’t need this. I want the kid that has one foot in school and one foot out of school and he or she is trying to decide which way they should go,” Passafiume said.

“You give them an experience like this and that kid who is smart but just never really thought about college will think differently,” she said.

David Bollert, Ph.D., teaches a philosophy class for SLI and said that he feels like he can’t let the students in the program down.

“I really want to meet all of their needs

to kind of keep alive the hope and to instill in them that this is a concrete reality for them,” Bollert said.

He also said that the SLI students’ are refreshing to teach because they are so honest and excited.

“When you’re there with the students and you see the energy they bring and you hear first hand the stories they have to tell about where they’re coming from and what they’re dreams are, it’s pretty emotionally gripping,” Bollert said.

“They’re absolutely wonderful. They’re bright and feisty,” he said.

Krystal Diaz has been an SLI student mentor for two years and enjoys how excited the students in the program get about college classes.

“They told me that they didn’t know that class could be like this and that they could speak their mind and share their opinion and actually think,” Diaz said.

In addition to taking classes, the students went to a Broadway play, watched a spoken word poet perform, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and even played a pickup basketball game with some players from MC’s men’s basketball team.

In addition to the students learning, the student mentors said that they also learned a lot.

“Nothing I could have ever taught them could even compare to what they taught me,” said Jessica Risolo, SLI student mentor.

Risolo realized that a group of boys in the SLI program needed a little extra attention in order to realize their potential.

“I said to them, ‘You guys have a lot of natural leadership tendencies. And they said, ‘Wow. Someone notices this in me. I have to show it.”

Risolo said she was sad to say goodbye to the students after the program ended.

“These kids have so much love and knowledge and life experience to give that they really were amazing. I got paid but I would have done it for free,” Risolo said.

At the end of the week, the students read a part of their college essays and Passafiume said that she could tell how much each of them grew in such a short amount of time.

She said that there was one student who was really shy and didn’t know if college was a good environment for him.

According to Passafiume, he wrote his college essay about how he feels like Luke Skywalker and is more confident in who he is now.

Passafiume said that on the second day of SLI, a student asked her if she got paid to organize and run the program.

“I was like, ‘Well no. I work at the college and I get paid for working at the college. But no I don’t get paid for this particular program,” she said.

The same student then asked her why she helps SLI if she doesn’t get paid.

“I didn’t get a chance to answer him.

But then at the banquet, they got up and expressed their stories and I answered his question and said, ‘This is why I do this.

Cause look at you guys.”

Passafiume doesn’t let the mentorship end after the banquet. She follows up with the students to make sure that the program did what it is designed to do.

She often gets emails from students saying thank you and explaining how much SLI impacted them.

“Without your help I’m sure I would not have gotten into Penn State, much less alone on a full ride scholarship. Thank you for believing in me,” Passafiume said as she read one of those emails.

She said that those emails are concrete evidence that SLI is working.

“The goal is to create a pipeline program. The goal is not to get them to attend Manhattan College, even though every year a handful do,” she said.

“It’s college access. It’s preparing them for college.”

Out of the last SLI group, 28 out of the 30 students went on to college.

According to Passafiume, the two that didn’t go to college are working with her to attend college in the near future or find the path that works best for them.

“It’s alright. You didn’t get there now.

There are family and home things going on. But now what are we going to do until spring? Let’s get you a little job, money in your pocket and let’s prepare for you going next year,” she said.

“You don’t realize how a little bit of time and effort on your part can really change someone’s life. It really changes the direction.”

10

sports

Sept. 6, 2016

This Week in Sports

Freshman Olivia Printy punches away a potential Binghamton goal in the Jaspers’ 1-0 loss.

Go Jaspers/Courtesy

Volleyball

Volleyball’s rough start to the season continued, as the Jaspers lost four matches this week. The team remains winless (0-7), with five of the seven losses coming in straight sets.

But in one of the few bright spots on the week, Allie Yamashiro broke the school record for digs. The record had been held since 2007 by Ashley Watson, who had collected 2013 digs in her career.

Women’s Soccer The women’s soccer team (1-5) went 0-2 on the week. The Jaspers lost 1-0 at home against Binghamton on Sep. 2 and 3-0 on the road against Fordham on Sep. 4. The Jaspers have had trouble finding the back of the net early in the season, getting shut out in five of their six games.

Men’s Soccer Manhattan’s men’s soccer team (0-2) lost its seventh consecutive home opener on Aug. 31. The Jaspers dropped the match 1-0 to NJIT.

Men’s Basketball Manhattan’s 2016-2017 season schedule was released on Sep. 2. The Jaspers will play 20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games, in addition to 11 non-conference games.

The Jaspers will open their MAAC schedule hosting Canisius on Dec. 2. On Jan. 17, the Jaspers will host the defending MAAC champions, Iona Gaels. The game against the Gaels is the first in what will perhaps be the toughest stretch of the season, as the Jaspers will face Monmouth, Siena and then go on the road to take on Niagara and Canisius in Buffalo.

Compiled By Daniel Ynfante, Sports Editor

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sports

11

Professional Runner Kerri Gallagher Becomes Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Teams

John Jackson Staff Writer

At the end of the Spring 2016 semester, Manhattan College’s Athletic Department had a task of finding a new head coach for its men’s and women’s cross country team, including both the middle distance and distance running programs.

The vacancy was filled by an elite runner in Kerri Gallagher.

Gallagher graduated from Fordham University in 2011 after a highly successful college running career.

In her time with the Rams she won four Atlantic 10 titles, won the Hobbes family award as the top female student ¬athlete, achieved ESPN The Magazine’s All-District Honors, set six school records, set two Atlantic 10 records, was a five ¬time team MVP and will ultimately be enshrined in Fordham’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

After Fordham, Gallagher went on to American University as an assistant coach for the next five years.

While there, she also pursued her own running career before coming to Manhattan

Kerri Gallagher brings years of experience as a coach and professional runner to Manhattan.

Go Jaspers/Courtesy College.

Fellow cross country runner John Dove ships and had just recently made the semi“In that five years, I think I balanced finals at the U.S. Olympic trials. She won echoes Gorman’s sentiments as well as learning the challenges of coaching while the Penn Relays mile run in 2015, came in mentioning the possible impact that Galrunning pretty well,” said Gallagher. “So second in the Wanamaker Mile at the 2016 lagher’s hiring can have on the cross counwhen this opportunity came up to take over Millrose Games and is a record ¬holder try program itself. as head cross country coach at Manhattan, and three ¬time champion at the Army Ten “It’s great because I feel like that’s a lot I saw it as a great opportunity for both my Miler. of exposure to our team,” said Dove. “So running and to bring my experiences … to Regarding 1500 meter races, she has if people realize we have a professional this group of athletes.” represented the United States at the IAAF runner as our coach, maybe that will bring Those five years at American Univer- World Championships in 2015 and came in more high profile recruits. You can’t resity for Gallagher included coaching with in third at the USATF Outdoor Champion- ally get better than a professional runner’s and being coached by two¬ time Olympi- ships in 2015. training so if we get similar to the same an Matt Centrowitz Sr. Centrowitz Sr. ran The third place finish at the USATF thing, only good things can happen.” in the 1976 Olympics and was set to run Outdoor Championships made her qualify Both Gorman and Dove were on the again four years later, but did not as the for the World Championships in Beijing, committee that made the decision to hire United States boycotted the 1980 Olym- China later in 2015.

Gallagher. pics.

While they were tasked with a big deFor her student athletes, knowing about “My coach Matt Centrowitz Sr. is all her accolades and experience as a run- cision, they are beyond satisfied with their probably one of the best in the country and ner has an impact on them. choice. really is great at developing athletes,” said “I think it’s great,” said Dove referring “I think that just makes our training Gallagher. ten times better and it brings us to another to the hire.

“Teaching you not just how to be a level,” said Manhattan cross country run“I think it brings a little bit of diversity better runner, but what it takes to learn the ner Kelly Gorman. to the team, which is something that we resport and understand it.”

“It’s really inspiring because she can ally need and we couldn’t have really have Gallagher has ran and done well in run with us. We never had a coach that can found somebody better in the predicament many high profile races in the last few run with us. She’s in shape and she’s run that we were in.” years. very serious times so I’m excited to see She has ran in three U.S. Champion- what we all can do.”

12

sports

Sept. 6, 2016

Assistant Track Coach Joe Ryan Goes to Rio 2016 Olympics

Track and field assistant coach, Joe Ryan, at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Go Jaspers/Courtesy

Charles Lippolis Staff Writer

After 20 years of coaching track and field athletes locally and internationally, Manhattan’s assistant coach Joe Ryan had already been groomed for excellence.

But Ryan added to his experience this summer at the Rio Olympics, serving as the head track and field coach for Guyana, the home of Ryan’s most successful athlete at Manhattan College, Aliann Pompey.

“It’s not even close, it’s completely different,” said Ryan, describing the difference between the Olympics and other competition. “When I went to Beijing it was very significant because it was all new. When I arrived in Rio I knew what to expect.”

As the NCAA champion and record breaker in the 500 meter dash in 2000, Pompey qualified for the Olympics, and in light of her success on both an international level and collegiate level with Ryan, he began working with Guyanese athletes and has not looked back.

Ryan has been a part of eight World Championships and three Olympic games,

with his experience lending itself to a calm, yet coordinated work ethic, which allows him to relish in the games while still remain on task.

“It’s not a vacation,” said Ryan, making clear how mistakes are not tolerated at the Olympics, as one Olympic Games holds the weight of roughly 80 World Championships in his eyes.

After years of surrounding himself with the greatest athletes in the world, Ryan has surrounded himself with an understanding of their drive and routine, which is how he felt the athletes separated themselves from the ones on a college level.

“You’re dealing with the top 50 to 60 athletes in the world … these people are already highly motivated,” said Ryan.

One of the athletes that Ryan has had the pleasure of watching through the course of his own Olympic career is Usain Bolt. The most decorated sprinter of all time, Bolt has been able to dominate the competition for three consecutive games, and Ryan has had a front row ticket to his performance.

“He’s the greatest showman track and field has ever had … I’ve never seen an athlete win the crowd the way he has,”

Joe Ryan (right) served as Guyana’s track and field coach at the 2016 Olympics.

Joe Ryan/Courtesy said Ryan, who had the privilege of watching Bolts career from start to finish.

The other distinct privilege that Ryan has had is being able to travel the world doing what he loves. These games take place all around the world and each time the Olympics or World Championships are held it is a new opportunity for Ryan to explore the world.

His most recent trip for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games brought him to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city which Ryan believed exhibited beauty in the form of its contrast.

“You have the mountains pushing right up against the beach, and then you have the rainforest just behind the mountains … it is truly a beautiful place with beautiful people,” said Ryan Ryan was able to make a few trips to some of the iconic sights of Rio, such as the Christ the Redeemer statue, but spent most of his time in the Olympic Village.

This “bubble” of space, as Ryan described it, was where the athletes and coaches existed as the world focused all of its attention on them.

“Anytime you wanted to eat or get your laundry done you could,” said Ryan, “they

even had separate lanes of traffic where you could only drive if you had a license with the Olympics.”

Ryan’s experience in both Brazil and other corners of the world that his coaching career has brought him to have helped shape the man and coach he is today. This helps him continue to have success at Manhattan, coaching the athletes of his alma mater.

One of these athletes is Madison Arndt, a junior pole-vaulter at Manhattan and member of the NCAA Student Athletic Advisory Committee. She feels that her growth as both an athlete and a person has been driven in the right direction by Ryan.

“There is something about the combination of Coach Ryan’s aura and personality that makes you want to work 110% to achieve your goals,” said Arndt, who feels inspired by Ryan on a day-to-day basis.

Ryan’s experience in both life and his career has helped him become a respected member of the track and field community worldwide and the Manhattan College community here at home, and his experience in the Rio games as well as his homecoming have helped solidify that legacy.