Issue 6, Spring 2016 - The Quadrangle

THE Volume 93, Issue 6

Q

UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924

March 1, 2016

The Gender Issue

www.mcquad.org

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The

Letter from

opinions & editorials

Quadrangle www.mcquad.org

The Editor

Vol. 93 Issue 6 March 1, 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

March 1, 2016

This special edition of The Quadrangle is dedicated to the issue of gender on our campus. Our staff has worked extremely hard to provide sixteen pages of thought-provoking content that we hope will spark discussion and reflection.

Coinciding with Women’s History Month, we aimed to celebrate the advancements made by the college so far and shed a light on the progress that still needs to be made.

In 1973 Manhattan College officially opened it’s doors to women. Our writers got the opportunity to speak with some of the first female graduates who paved the way for our coeducational institution. Today, 45 percent of the total student population is made up of women.

However, there are still improvements that need to be made.

Of our 55-person administration, only 20 percent are women. And while females make up about 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce today, women on our campus, and around the country, are still making significantly less money than their male counterparts.

Our gender breakdown across the six schools also highlights large gender gaps. The school of liberal arts holds the lowest male population, at just 29 percent, while the school of engineering holds the lowest female population, at just 23 percent.

Our objective in creating this special issue is to highlight and examine the true nature of gender on our campus and our larger community. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Sincerely,

Ally Hutzler

Leony Anne McKeown Asst. Photography Editor Kelly Burns Melissa Gallardo Abbi Kirollos Production Editors Daniel Molina Stephen Zubrycky Web Editors 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.

Sam Martin/The Quadrangle

News

Examining Gender Diversity in Senior Administration Anthony Capote Editor

Salwa Ammar, Ph.D., has served as the dean of the school of business since July 2, 2009, and until 2011 when Cheryl Harrison, Ed.D., was named executive coordinator of the school of continuing and professional studies, was the only woman on the deans’ council.

Ammar, though, is still the only woman on campus to bear the name dean, and she said she wishes there were more diversity on campus.

“The first step is to clearly recognize and understand the true value of diversity,” she said in an emailed statement. “Women bring strengths and perspectives that are vital in any decision making process.”

Between President Brennan O’Donnell’s, Ph.D., vice presidents, the deans’ council and Board of Trustees, there are 54 top administrators with major decision-making power: nine vice presidents (counting the Provost), six deans counting Harrison and 40 trustees, which includes O’Donnell. It is worth noting that Harrison is not represented on the “Leadership and Governance” page of the Manhattan College website.

Thirteen of those administrators are women, one of whom serves as a vice president of the College.

“Those of us who study leadership

know that it is expressed in a variety of ways, and women represent an important part of these expressions,” Ammar said in her email. “In today’s environment, any institution that does not embrace diversity in its leadership puts itself at a strategic disadvantage.”

O’Donnell said he is trying to make a conscious effort to increase diversity in senior leadership roles.

“Each time that I have been involved in a search [for employees] I have made a deliberate effort to make sure that the pool is diversified,” he said. “One of the things we are trying to search for is diversity and it’s great when those things come together, but they don’t always come together in terms of overall quality.”

According to the American Council on Education, 26 percent of college presidents are women, though the majority of them are in associate, or 2-year colleges. Religious studies professor Natalia ImperatoriLee, Ph.D. says that she sees those trends on this campus and others.

“Of the deans of the college, one of them is a women and one of them is a minority and it’s the same person,” she said.

“They tend to skew male—and white, and white.”

O’Donnell said he has instituted a diversity committing for hiring new employees and that they are dedicated to increasing gender and ethnic diversity among senior leadership roles. He says that in his

time as president, he has appointed nine new trustees to the board, four of whom have been women.

“There are a lot of people who have been promoted to senior leadership—what I consider to be senior leadership, which are dorm directors, program directors, assistant vice presidents—throughout the college who are women,” he said. “Marissa Passafiume: director of the center for academic success, Rani Roy of career development, Lois Harr’s promotion to assistant vice president of student life.”

Ammar said that she believes that the hiring committees on campus are doing everything in their power to increase the diversity of a 55-person administration that is only 20 percent female.

“We have to remember that while we are an established college with a rich tradition, we are relatively young in our co-educational history,” she said. “But we are now at the point where we can identify women leaders who have a strong affinity with the College and can serve on its board.”

Imperatori-Lee is less optimistic, though, even adding that the faculty also needs to be further diversified.

“They keep saying they want diversity but they just can’t find any qualified candidates. If you hear that enough tomes you start to see a pattern,” she said. “It does a disservice to the students for the administration and the faculty to not look like them.”

For Faculty, Wages Still Unequal Stephen Zubrycky Editor

The average American woman earns 21 percent less than the average American man, according to research published in 2015 by the American Association of University Women, a non-profit organization; while Pew Research pegs the gap at 16 percent.

“There is absolutely a wage differential,” said Cory Blad, Ph.D., an associate professor of sociology at Manhattan College.

There are varying statistics on the topic, but, according to Blad, women generally make somewhere between 75 and 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.

In the past few decades, women have been steadily making up ground in wages.

According to Pew, women made 36 percent less than men in 1980. And according to Blad that trend has been amplified in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

“Over the past few years, particularly in the post-recession area, one of the reasons why is because the rate of women reentering the job force, especially in former two-wage-earner households, has increased at a faster rate than male participation has,” Blad said. “It’s bumped up the differential from 75 cents to about 77 to 80.”

According to Blad, one of the biggest reasons for the recent improvements in wage is “the assumption that women will be paid less.”

Neither Manhattan College, nor academia as a whole are exceptions to the wage rule.

“There are pay differentials at Manhattan College. There are pay differentials throughout higher education,” Blad said.

Bridget Chalk, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English – and is married to Brian Chalk, Ph.D., also from the English department – does not observe an unfair

pay disparity between her and her husband.

But the gender wage gap manifests itself in far more numerous ways than just the number written on the paycheck.

“I think that in academia, as in most places, men can sometimes be the beneficiary of deals that women may or may not have access to,” said Natalia ImperatoriLee, Ph.D., an associate professor of religious studies who specializes in feminist theology.

“With my husband and I, there’s parity.

We make essentially the same thing,” Imperatori-Lee said of she and her husband, who is an assistant professor at Fordham University. “Pay in academia happens in a lot of ways. It happens in finances, but it also happens in course releases, grants, who gets to run a program.”

Child-bearing plays a role in compensation as well, and can have an effect described by Chalk as “the motherhood penalty,” whereby women are disadvantaged by the need for maternity leave.

According to Blad, there is room for improvement in Manhattan’s family leave policy and he classified it as “dated.”

Chalk, however, disagrees and calls Manhattan’s family leave policy “one of the best parts of working at this college,” citing benefits including a semester off with reduced pay and an option to pause the tenure clock.

Salary negotiation can be especially difficult for women in the workplace, compared to their male counterparts.

“If the assumption is that a man will get offered a position and negotiate the salary because it’s the quote-unquote ‘masculine thing to do,’ his negotiation for his salary ends up becoming viewed as a positive,” Blad said. “If a woman comes in, potentially, that socialization could be, ‘Well, I shouldn’t push. I shouldn’t be aggressive.’”

“I suspect generally that, yes, women are sort of at a disadvantage with negotia-

tions just because of kind of perceptions of women as less assertive, less confident, and the ideas that people who are doing the negotiating have about women – not that women are actually that way,” Chalk said.

“I don’t think in our school that women are disadvantaged in negotiations, but I also don’t have any experience in knowing how my colleagues negotiated their starting salary.”

Blad, however, knows an example of this phenomenon.

“When I was hired, I asked for more money. And I was given some more money,” he said. “A colleague of mine who was hired at the same time, who happened to be female, didn’t ask for more money and I’m making more than she is. She’s doing the exact same job I’m doing, and I’m making more money than she is. I am indicative of the pay differential.”

On the situation here at Manhattan, Imperatori-Lee said it was better than at other institutions.

“I think that we have historically been very good about keeping a balance between men and women but I don’t think that women are compensated quite equally,” she said.

Blad, however, disagrees, saying hoe doenst think the school doing enough to bridge the gap.

“I would not say there is a concerted effort to equalize pay along gender lines here,” he said. “I would not say there’s even really recognition that there is a pay differential because I don’t think many people have been keeping tabs on it.”

Currently, there is no available data on the pay differential at Manhattan College, which Blad takes issue with.

“I think the very fact that we really don’t have data on a gender pay differential is a problem,” Blad said. “Until we start taking those kind of realities seriously, all of those other possibilities won’t go anywhere.”

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Also On Campus Jack Melanson Asst. Editor

Take Back the Night Manhattan College’s second annual “Take Back The night” will be held on Mar. 22, 2016 from 5 to 8 p.m. The evening will be held in Smith Auditorium and the Quad.

“Take Back the Night” was created to raise awareness in regards to sexual violence.

In preparation to the event, O’Malley Library on campus has displayed a collection of books such as Vernon R. Wiehe and Ann L. Richards’ “Intimate Betrayal”, and “Athletes and Acquaintance Rape” by Jeffrey R. Benedict, to name a few.

“Take Back the Night” posters on campus read statistics such as “1 in 5 women students in college campuses will experience sexual assault,” and “90 percent of women in undergraduate programs will experience some form of sexual violence while on campus.”

“Take Back the Night” is an attempt to raise awareness and diminish these statistics.

New RA’s On Campus The process for selecting next years Resident Advisors began in Dec. of 2015, and continued this past week with interviews. New RA’s will be chosen and notified between spring break and Easter.

“This year we are on the high end of our normal range. 115 students applied to be first-year RA’s next year,” said Andrew Weingarten, Director of Residence Life.

Weingarten added that there are 52 budgeted RA positions, and about half of those positions are going to be filled by returning RA’s.

“We always see a high number of great RA candidates. It is a hard position to get simply due to the quality of the candidate pool. We always wish we had more positions to offer,” said Weingarten, “We often hire RA’s on their second attempt, after they have used a year to continue their leadership development.”

Social Justice Chat On Feb. 26., The Multicultural center, in conjunction with a group of student leaders, hosted a social justice chat in Kelly Commons.

The goal of the chat was to create a space for people to be comfortable with their identity, and discuss important, contemporary issues such as politics and micro aggressions.

“People exist here, this is a community,” said Government Major, Haley Herkert, who is a Junior student leader on campus that attended the event.

35 people showed up to the chat, leaving the hosts pleased to see new faces.

Students who are interested in events like this should visit the multicultural center on campus.

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news

March 1, 2016

In STEM Fields, Women Still Face Adversity Michelle DePinho Senior Writer

The gender gap in STEM industries is a fact that has defined the field and challenged schools, companies and government for a solution. At Manhattan College, the gender gap in engineering programs is both shaping the experience of female student-professionals and breeding a new set of leaders looking to close the gap.

STEM industries have historically been male-dominated. Current figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show that today’s female workforce makes up 47 percent of the total, but in engineering and science careers this percentage drops dramatically. Civil engineering, the largest engineering major at Manhattan College, is a workforce where women make up only 12.1 percent of the population. Only 8.3 percent of U.S. electrical engineers are women, followed by only 7.2 percent in mechanical engineering.

Coupled with such a small percentage of women working in these fields, assistant director of career development Meghan Makarczuk said there is also a steep wage gap in STEM industries.

“If we look at pay, what females professionals are paid versus men, I think there’s a huge gap. Women make overall 82 percent to 87 percent to men,” Makarczuk, who is also a career counselor for the schools of engineering and science, said.

In STEM specifically, “Men professionals make almost $16,000 more than women [annually].”

Isolated, these numbers tell a story of inequality. To some extent, they shape the experience of women still in school studying for STEM careers. The systemic wage gap, lack of female leaders in STEM and engineering’s reputation as a “boy’s club” are characteristics of the industry that have somewhat trickled down to the classroom

level.

Female engineering students at MC tend to fill disproportionate numbers of leadership roles and excel in their academics. These tech-savvy women at MC are making a name for themselves, despite being the minority.

Alexandra Lehnes is a senior mechanical engineering major and an officer of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering school’s most prestigious national honor society. She said she has noticed that when women pursue STEM, they tend to do better and end up in leadership positions.

“Like with Tau Beta Pi, in our e-board there are six people and four of them are girls. And the society as a whole has a higher girl-to-guy ratio than the school,” she said.

This female success rate in the college’s engineering program may be due to the motivations of the women it attracts.

“I always like a challenge. Just to prove to people that I can do it and that might be true for a lot of other women in STEM,” senior electrical engineering major Katie Smolko said.

Makarzcuk believes that a change in the culture of STEM will follow this rise in female leaders in engineering and science at the college.

“If we look at engineering and science majors at Manhattan College, there are more males in those classes than females.

However, outside of the classroom, and see how many of the females versus the males hold e-board positions. So I think that’s something that I like to talk about. I see that only as a huge positive,” she said. “They’re not only taking the classes, learning what they’re doing, but they’re sharing this information and passing this information on to younger students. And I think that’s where we’re going to see the change.”

But the success of these women at the college level does not necessarily translate into a totally equal experience. A few fe-

male engineering students said that sometimes they feel that being a woman makes them stick out, which leads to differential treatment in smaller, daily ways rather than outright bias.

“In one of my classes I’m the only girl,” Lehnes said. “Someone [once] cursed in class and apologized. It’s [in] the little things that you’re treated different.”

“On one hand, it’s nice to be treated that way, but on the other hand I want to be treated like everyone else.”

Smolko, who is also an officer of Tau Beta Pi, has found the culture of the classroom in engineering to be very male-dominated as well.

“But being around guys all the time, you’re constantly bombarded with boy humor. I find it funny, so I don’t really mind it, but I’m sure there’s a lot of women that it bothers them,” she said.

In some cases, this feeling of exclusion can even extend to internship experiences and professional life.

“Only in one internship, out of three, have I experienced gender bias. I would hear things like “is it take your daughter to work day?,” senior civil engineering major Katie Lang said. “It is frustrating when people don’t take you seriously.”

But in their academic endeavors, these women have found support rather than marginalization.

Smolko credits that to the people in her department.

“I feel like the professors in my school in my department…just keep it supportive,” Smolko said. “Because they know as well that we need more women in engineering…”

Given its complexity, the problem of women not pursuing STEM is one that has attracted significant attention and has drawn from psychology, education theory and even sociology. But the question is clear: Why do (or don’t) women pursue STEM careers?

The drop-off of female interest in STEM once they get to college is welldocumented. Female and male students nearly equally excel in middle and high school advanced math and science courses, but males routinely make up most of the college population studying those topics.

Furthermore, the number of women who pursue STEM careers after graduation is even smaller than the number of women who study STEM. “Maybe people are coming from traditional families…where they’re teaching [and] telling them because you work long hours, and you have to have kids, you can’t,” Smolko said. “There are people who think traditionally like that and they might have passed that on to their girls.”

Regardless, efforts at MC and beyond are focused on shifting that trend.

Lang is also the president of the college’s chapter Society of Women Engineers. This semester, the club launched a campaign HeforSWE that has engaged both male and female members of the community in supporting women in STEM. The society has even engaged local businesses like Fenwick’s Pub and Jasper Deli in the movement.

“It is basically a play off the UN Women’s movement HeForShe, and it’s all about including men in the fight of equality,” Lang said. “So we want to include our male classmates in SWE, and help them learn why SWE is important and necessary.”

National initiatives, like Girl Scouts of America’s partnersnhip with NASA to develop tech-centered Girl Scout badges, and the White House’s 2013 STEM Education Strategic plan, may also help change the tide.

By focusing on the future, these movements hope to motivate and encourage the next generation of women to be bold and shake up the demographics of STEM industries today.

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News

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Gender Breakdown Across the Schools Jack Melanson Asst. Editor

In 1973 Manhattan College accepted women for the first time as undergraduate students. Since then, a lot has changed.

Today, nearly half of the student population is made up of women, as 45 percent of Jaspers are female.

“These numbers come from our official fall 2015 Census data,” said Steve Celin, institutional research analyst at Manhattan College.

Celin also shared the gender percentages within each of the six schools of study.

The School of Engineering is not only the most studied program on campus, but it also landed on the bottom of the list when it comes to number of females within the program. Only 23 percent of the engineer population identifies themselves as a woman.

One female engineer is Erika Finan, a

junior studying civil engineering.

“I definitely enjoy studying engineering here at Manhattan and while it’s visibly obvious that there are less girls in the classes, I do not think it interferes with my studies,” she said in an email statement.

Finan further elaborated on what it means to be a women studying engineering.

“I have been told that I will get a job after graduation because I am a girl multiple times,” she said. “While this may not sound like an insult; it is.”

Finan added that not all students are as insulting.

“Some of my best friends at Manhattan are even guy engineers and I wouldn’t trade them for the world,” said Finan.

Finan is also the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers on campus.

The other five schools of study had much different gender percentages, as Celin provided the exact numbers. The school of business is 39 percent female, 61 percent

male, the school of education and health is 70 percent female, 30 percent male, the school of liberal arts is 71 percent female, 29 percent male, the school of science is 52 percent female, 48 percent male and the school of continuing and professional studies is 32 percent female, 68 percent male.

Female Liberal Arts students have a much different outlook, as they are apart of the program with the highest percentage of women.

Mikeisha Kelly studies communication within the school of liberal arts and is a member of the class of 2019. She shared her empathy for the women in the engineering program.

“I respect other majors, especially women engineers because most of the time I feel like there are more men pursuing those jobs,” said Kelly. “Women now are entering that field more and becoming renowned and respected for their work more than ever.”

Kelly then discussed how female en-

gineering students are the only ones being profiled.

“I don’t necessarily think that being a [female communication] major is stereotypical but I’ve definitely been judged for being a communication major,” said Kelly. “a lot of people tend to automatically think it is easy in comparison to other majors.

I think it’s because a lot of people don’t really know exactly what it means to be a [communication] major.”

Kelly and Finan both agree that women are often judged for their choice of study, whether it be and “expected” or “unexpected” degree for a female to earn.

The two shared how people tend to misunderstand what their major entails as well as what they are capable of accomplishing as female human beings. “[People] can’t really pinpoint exactly what kind of job one can get out of being a [communication] major.” said Kelly, while Finan said, “I will get a job after graduation because I am qualified for the job not because I am a girl.”

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Features

March 1, 2016

Society of Women Engineers Sparks Conversation about Gender and Engineering Tara Marin Asst. Editor

An important female organization on campus is the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) which is nation-wide educational non-profit that seeks to give women a voice and a place in the engineering industry.

Katie Lang is a senior civil engineering major with a concentration in environmental engineering and a proud member of SWE. When she was a freshman here, SWE was essentially non-existent, but she joined the efforts to start it up again during her sophomore year. It has grown ever since, and now they have over 100 members.

Their new movement, #HeForSWE is inspired by Emma Watson’s #HeForShe movement with the United Nation’s Women’s Committee. Their goal is to highlight the importance of supporting women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers, and a crucial part of making this effective is having male students and professors on board.

“It’s the idea that you can’t advance women in STEM careers if you don’t get support from men. We have to take down that invisible divide between us. We’re not trying to exclude anyone. The point is, we can’t do it without them,” Lang said.

SWE is also trying to extend their reach not only beyond females, but also beyond

the engineering department so they can encompass more students and more majors.

“You can be a math major, an engineer, computer science…. we’re trying to include more people in this. It shouldn’t just be for female engineers, it should be for everyone who supports the cause,” Lang said.

On Tuesday, March 22nd, SWE is having an event in Kelly Commons and all are welcome to attend.

“We’re having this event to spread awareness and explain why SWE is important, because a lot of guys have asked me, ‘what is the point?’ We just want to show what it’s all about,” she said.

Lang also points out that this movement is especially geared towards reassuring female engineers who are in their first year that they shouldn’t question their dreams.

“Most of our active members are freshman because I think that’s when you’re really vulnerable and most likely to quit or change your major. I think it’s important for them to know it’s okay to feel like that,” Lang said, noting that she was once in the same place.

“I came from an all girls school, and there were just so many guys here. You just feel like you’re not as important or as good as them. You think to yourself, ‘do I belong here?’, so it’s about giving women a sense of belonging,” Lang said.

Although she is comfortable now, there are still problems ahead for her and other female engineers as they are entering a

workforce with an overwhelming amount of men.

“There’s thirty kids in civil engineering class and only three of them are girls.

I’m used to it now because I know all the guys in my classes and they’re great, but when I go into the workforce it’s going to be a new issue - it’s a boys club.”

Caitlin Hall, a sophomore mechanical engineer, has also benefitted from being a part of SWE and hopes that more male students begin to get involved and understand the reason that they are shedding light on these issues.

“Being a woman in the field of engineering, you’re already the minority. It can be uncomfortable feeling out of place.

Sometimes you need to hear voices of reassurance from people who have been in your position to motivate you. Knowing that there are successful women engineers in a world of men gives me hope for achieving my own goals,” Hall said.

Hall also explains the importance of making men aware of the challenges women face that they don’t, like the wage gap and sexual harassment in the workforce, is the key to positive change.

“When you’re not the victim you tend to turn your cheek, usually subconsciously.

My one friend who is a male engineer wanted to come to one of our SWE meetings to talk about his opinions of our movement, because he didn’t quite agree with our approach. He was terrified to come because

he would be one of the only guys. Then he was like, ‘Wait, that’s the point… you feel like that! Being in a board meeting full of men must be really intimidating.’ Obviously, we want to avoid making people uncomfortable by educating them before it comes to that,” Hall said.

Dr. Goli Nossoni, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is the advisor for SWE because she is passionate about furthering women in this field.

“Women are highly underrepresented in engineering. Women bring different skills and problem-solving approaches to engineering and the engineering community values their contributions. To be effective, both men and women must support the efforts to increase the number of women who pursue careers in engineering. That is why the #HeForSWE movement is so appropriate,” Nossoni said.

Sophomore chemical engineering major Jaclyn Marchetta, who is on the board for SWE, also shares these beliefs.

“It’s important to include males and to make people realize the limited role for women in engineering. We’re telling everyone about it and presenting to the student body this idea of combining women’s and men’s issues,” Marchetta said.

The board meets every week and they are inspired by their feminist teachers and are determined, as Marchetta puts it, to “open the student body’s eyes to these issues and to be more inclusive.”

Students, professors and family members support #HeForSWE, a nation-wide movement that seeks to create an inclusive space for women in the engineering industry.

Society of Women Engineers/Courtesy

Features

7

The Years Leading Up to Manhattan’s Coeducation Decision Kieran Rock Editor

Manhattan College’s decision to begin admitting women to undergraduate programs in the fall of 1973 was the product of years of discussion and research. It was not on a whim that MC opened its doors to women in 1973.

The Cooperative Agreement The college had a long established cooperative program with the all-female College of Mount Saint Vincent. The cooperative program was established in 1964 and allowed the female students from Mount Saint Vincent to take classes at Manhattan and the male students of Manhattan to take classes at Mount Saint Vincent.

“The precursor to coeducation was the cooperative agreement with the college Mount St Vincent. They were always our sister school in a sense,” Amy Surak, the Manhattan College Archivist, said. “We had teas and dances, we had social events.

We always interacted with one another. In fact many of our alum met their wives at events between the two institutions.”

Surak, who is in the process of editing her draft of the history of the college, also noted the way the cooperative agreement began to sew the seeds of coeducation.

“In 1964 it made very logical sense to come together so that we could offer the students of Mount Saint Vincent, which offered primarily nursing and education, we could offer them engineering classes and business classes. Curriculum which was very male dominated and male centric at the time,” Surak said.

“Not only were they gathering socially to dance and engage in lectures, but then we started to have men and women in the classroom together.”

Finances and Enrollment Begins the Conversation At this time, Manhattan began facing financial struggles and low enrollment. As Surak writes in her unpublished history of the college: “Manhattan College began the 1970s facing contracting enrollments, limited resources and escalating educational costs.” Many solutions were proposed to lessen the financial strain of the college, and in the political and social climate of the 1970s, coeducation was among the most discussed and widely supported by students and faculty.

The support for coeducation was not shared with the board of trustees and administration of the college at the time. As Surak writes: “When coeducation was raised to the board of trustees initially in May 1971 by Brother Gregory, the board dismissed the consideration since the cooperative program was so educationally promising and economically prudent.”

While the cooperative agreement with Mount Saint Vincent brought female students into the Manhattan College classrooms it “hindered its progress” toward coeducation, according to Surak.

Surak also points to the relationship between the Brothers and the Sisters who ran Manhattan and Mount Saint Vincent respectively.

“The brothers and the sisters loved and respected each other. They always had this great working relationship. So when this idea of coeducation came up, the idea was maybe we shouldn’t do this because they

The Quadrangle published this cartoon in response to Brother Stephen Sullivan’s decision not to admit women to Arts & Sciences.

Archives/Courtesy didn’t want to upset the sisters in any way,” Surak said.

By 1972 the new Manhattan College Community Senate conducted a study to look at the social and economic benefits of coeducation at MC. Surak writes that “In November 1972…the Senate approved by a vote of 45-2, with 1 abstaining, the recommendation of the Committee on Coeducation that Manhattan should go coed and maintain the cooperative program.”

Arts and Sciences does not go Coed In December of 1973, The Jasper Journal, one of the two newspapers on campus that year, published an interview with Brother Gregory, the president of the college. The Jasper Journal asked Brother Gregory for the projections of women who would be applying to Manhattan, particularly the numbers for the School of Arts and Sciences. Brother Gregory could not give the numbers. ““No unfortunately I don’t,” the interview reads.

“It seems to me that the Arts and Sciences curriculum would tend to attract more women than the ones that were open to them this year.”

Interestingly as the year went on, the college decided not to admit women to the School of Arts and Sciences for its first year of coeducation. The decision stemmed from Manhattan’s involvement in the cooperative program with Mount Saint Vincent and a wish to maintain a good relationship by only opening up female enrollment in programs whose curriculum was not available at Mount Saint Vincent.

As Surak writes: “this caused some grumbling among the student-body and faculty who interpreted the move as subjugating the desires of Manhattan to the needs of the Mount.”

This sudden change was widely discussed on campus and reported on in The Quadrangle. On February 14, 1973 The Quadrangle reported that the senate would likely discuss coeducation at their next meeting and referred to a “rumor” that it would only be the schools of engineering and business that went coed. Then, on February 27, 1973 The Quadrangle reported: “The senate is expected to discuss the issue of coeducation again, since Brother Stephen Sullivan’s recent statement of coeducation has thrown the matter into a state of confusion.” The statement refers to the decision to not open

the School of Arts and Sciences to female applicants in the first year of coeducation.

Accompanying the article is a cartoon that perhaps shows the discontent of the student body with the change to the decision. It appears to depict Brother Stephen Sullivan rejecting a cake with a woman that reads “Arts + Science.” The Quadrangle also noted that this decision was a major blow to the power of the Senate.

Discussion of Women’s Issues on Campus This was not the only instance of The Quadrangle reporting on women’s issues at this time. In fact, the year leading up to the college’s first year of coeducation includes articles and editorials that cover a wide ranging spectrum of issues.

In March, among articles that noted the increase of tuition at Manhattan, the Quadrangle also published a letter to the editor that attacked the statements of one Manhattan Student in his reference to students of Mount Saint Vincent as “mounties” writing that it “carries a feeling of inferiority, which of course in this case is sexual inferiority.”

In the letter, the student also calls The Quadrangle a “sexist orientated rag.”

They conclude by writing: “It could possibly be time for the students of Mount St. Vinvent to evaluate the manner which they are being treated and the students of Manhattan College to evaluate some of their sexist ways.”

Clearly there was some question of the ability of Manhattan to accept women into the college. At the same time second wave feminism and public attention to women’s rights issues were creating new discussions.

One of these issues was abortion and The Quadrangle was publishing a series of editorials called “The Abortion Issue: A View.” The Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade undoubtedly prompted the editorial. The editorial also incited response from the Manhattan Community with one letter to the editor from a female reader disagreeing with the editorials remarks on the morality of the abortion issue.

In October of 1973, Dr. William Reilly published an editorial in The Quadrangle

entitled: “On Buttoning Women’s Lips.” In the article Reilly discusses the equality of women particularly in education. He wrote: “it is clear that justice demands total equity here, including the long-denied ‘equal pay for equal work principle’.”

He goes on to write: “the malignant nonsense that ‘women have a right over their own bodies’ becomes palpable.”

There was clearly some questions still left to be answered about what the place of female students would be at MC, as the varying viewpoints reported in the campus news sources in 1973 reveal.

In a staff editorial published in 1973 states: “having taken over one hundred years to go co-ed in four of her five schools, how long will it now take Manhattan to go co-ed in the School of Arts and Sciences?”

The editorial suggests that Brother Batt who was in charge of admissions was uninterested in admitting female students, and concludes: “THE QUAD extends its sincerest sympathy to those co-eds caught in yet another Admissions folly.”

Coeducation Arrives at MC In the fall of 1973 Manhattan College officially admitted women to the college, though they were not admitted to the School of Arts and Sciences until the following year in 1974, when the College of Mount Saint Vincent also went coed.

Surak writes: “The 1973-1974 academic year marked the first time that women were officially allowed to enroll at Manhattan College. Out of a total of around three thousand fulltime undergraduates, forty-three fulltime undergraduate women matriculated at the institusion.”

The year leading up to coeducation was marked by discussions about the practicality of the decisions, the power of the Community Senate and the Board of Trustees, and the way the decision affected the cooperative agreement with the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

“One of the most impactful and farreaching changes during this period was the introduction of coeducation,” Surak writes, “which brought an end to that part of Manhattan’s identity that exclusively branded the institution as a ‘maker of men’.”

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Manhattan’s First Females Reflect On Making History Ally Hutzler & Tara Marin Editor-in-Cheif & Asst. Editor

The seventies were a progressive time for the United States: the Supreme Court legalized abortion, Steve Jobs founded Apple, the U.S. left the Vietnam War, and colleges across America finally opened their doors to women. In 1973, Manhattan College became one of those colleges.

However, there was one woman who actually graduated from MC in 1969, five years before the school officially became coeducational. Her name is Patricia Ruback-Kerhberger.

Kerhberger grew up in a small town in Orange County, N.Y. When she was just 8 years old, her father passed away from cancer at the age of 33, and her mother raised her and her three younger siblings on her own.

“I had a very happy childhood. It was, in essence, carefree because of her. She never complained,” Kerhberger said.

Her mother stressed the importance of education. Kerhberger was expected to treat school as a job, while their mom took care of the rest. She went to public school until eighth grade and then attended John S. Burke, a private catholic high school.

As she made her way through school, Kerhberger discovered a passion for both math and science, and civil engineering captivated her.

“I loved when we would go on trips to visit my grandmother on Long Island because we went on highways through New York City,” she reminisced. “The ramps, the bridges, how it all stays together and transports people fascinated me.”

As her senior year drew to a close, it was time to start thinking about colleges and careers. When she first floated the idea of being an engineer, her mother thought it was the perfect fit, but other relatives were very negative about it.

“They told me it’s a man’s occupation and that education for me, as a young woman in engineering, would be a waste,” she said. The idea was that women would eventually get married, have children, and never return to work.

A lot of criticism came from her girlfriends’ fathers, who encouraged their own daughters to attend two-year schools or concentrate in areas of study that were less intensive.

Anytime she was marginalized, her mother stepped forward and said, “Pat, I am so angry at people for saying things like that to you. You do whatever you want to do.”

Kerhberger was the valedictorian of her graduating class in 1965. At that point, she had already put down her registration money for Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. What Kerhberger didn’t know was that the principal of John S. Burke, who was a nun, happened to know the president Manhattan College at the time, Brother Stephen.

She told Brother Stephen she had a young woman, the valedictorian of her class, who wanted to attend a catholic college and become an engineer.

“She asked him ‘Why in heaven’s name don’t you take women at Manhattan College?’and he said it was probably time they started,” Kerhberger said.

It was only a few days before graduation. Kerhberger remembers rehearsing her

valedictorian speech when her principal approached her with an idea: how would she like to go to Manhattan College instead?

“The females in my life really rallied around me and reinforced my decision. I never hesitated for a second,” Kerhberger said.

In 1965, MC was still years away from becoming a coeducational institution, so they did not have housing or facilities for female students. An arrangement was made where Kerhberger would dorm at the College of Mount St. Vincent but be a full time student here.

“I never saw Manhattan College or Mount St. Vincent until I arrived the first day of freshman year,” Kerhberger said.

It was pouring rain when Kerhberger arrived for her first day of classes at Manhattan. She had to ask the guard at the main gate where the engineering building was located and still remembers walking through the back door of Leo Engineering Building.

“It was all guys. I was just sitting there in class and the guys were looking around expecting this male school,” she said. “But from the start everybody was welcoming. It was almost serendipity; it worked itself out from there.”

By sophomore year Kerhberger would spend all day at Manhattan taking classes, only returning to Mount St. Vincent around supper to do homework and sleep. By then, the men had gotten used to her and she simply felt like a part of the student body.

Manhattan College opened it’s door to female students in 1973.

Archives/Courtesy “They did have to adjust their thinking a “I guess I was a pioneer because they little bit though,” Kerhberger said. realized the place wasn’t going to fall Every year, the civil engineers held the down if a woman was sitting in the classFather and Son Communion Breakfast for room, but the notion of being a coed school the students at the school. Kerhberger, who means a lot more than having a few people already stood out in the crowd, did not have sitting in classes,” she said. Women had to a father to bring. fight for adequate housing and facilities, “I told the brother that I’m bringing academic programs and athletic teams. my mother. We were at the father and son Kerhberger has returned to campus breakfast, but even mom was welcomed,’ several times over the years and is proud she said. of women in the program today. “I meet Kerhberger always felt she had some- the young women and they are so talented thing to learn from everyone around her. and they do so many other things: they are “I learned that it isn’t all that different. singers, actors, and athletes. They are wonPeople are people, and people are wonder- derful,” she said. ful. You do your best work and everyone Kerhbergers’ advice for the young will accept you for that,” she said. women at Manhattan College today is to When Kerhberger graduated in 1969, appreciate how far the school has come and she was the first laywoman to receive a de- how much work and sacrifice, from parents gree from Manhattan College. She wasn’t and alumni, have gone into the creation of just breaking the mold - she was making the school we know today. history.

“Enjoy the richness of it, enjoy the di“I knew I was the first, and I knew it was versity, enjoy the men, enjoy the women a gift. I just wanted to be an engineer,” she and celebrate that. Every once in while said. think back: It wasn’t all that long ago that Kerhberger went on to receive a master’s things were very, very different.” degree from the University of Michigan.

Five years after Kerhberger graduWhen she returned home to New York a year ated, MC officially became coeducational. later, she went to work for an environmental Marybeth McCall, M.D., class of 1974, engineering company called Hydro Science. attended Manhattan College during this Several professors from MC had formed the transition. Like Kerhberger, she was an enfirm and a very large percent of employees gineer as well. were graduates from here. She stayed at the MC was hosting a science program in company for the rest of her career. nuclear physics and computer programWhile Kerhberger managed to fit per- ming between McCall’s junior and senior fectly into what was an all-male Manhattan year in high school, and she was one of the College, she knows that the women who sixty students in her region who were accame after her experienced hardship. cepted into the program. McCall remem-

bers it as a time with some of the brightest people she’s ever met, and she was also able to familiarize herself with the campus and create a clearer vision for her future.

“I got to know the campus and many of the professors, and of course I wanted to be an engineer. I looked into programs that were around that I could commute to easily.

I knew the folks at MC, so I called the nuclear physics professor and asked if it was possible for them to take me from Mount Saint Vincent,” McCall said. “He told me, ‘we’re not sure what we’re going to do, but you can come.’ They were still considering going co-ed at the time, so I registered at Mount Saint Vincent and took classes here.

I just really identified with Manhattan and I loved engineering,” she said.

Extracurriculars and athletics were not geared towards women yet, but that didn’t stop McCall from being involved. She was the president of her fraternity while she was here and was also the very first woman to be inducted into the Pen and Sword Honors Society.

Although it was years ago, she still remembers the excitement and gratification she felt. “It was absolutely an honor, especially since that was across the whole college, not just the engineering school,” she said.

Since McCall attended MC when it was transitioning to a co-ed institution, there were other women here as well. Although she was part of the minority, McCall never felt intimidated or excluded. “It wasn’t unusual to be around them. They were like brothers, and I was too busy to go out with them,” she said.

“Busy” is an understatemwent. To support herself financially, McCall worked as a lab technician at a hospital from the time she was sixteen. She was also granted a $1500 scholarship which, believe it or not, fully paid for her tuition here. While her job and schoolwork kept her occupied, it also kept her fulfilled and motivated.

“I was able to live at home and work in a hospital, support the family, study, and it was a really good experience. It was a busy

Patricia “Pat” Ruback-Kerhberger stands among an all-male class at her graduation ceremony at Madison Square Garden in 1969.

Archives/Courtesy time, but I had a really positive attitude,” McCall said.

However, working in a male-dominated atmosphere proved to have its difficulties.

“As engineering went on, I did well.

My junior year, I was working a lot in the lab but I had an altercation with a physician. I was giving him lab tests, and he challenged me, saying, ‘why are you bothering me little girl? I don’t know what these mean’ and I said to him, at nineteen years old, ‘if you don’t know what I mean then you shouldn’t be ordering them’.”

Although she wasn’t at fault, McCall was reprimanded for insubordination but didn’t get fired. Then something dawned on her, and her ambitions expanded: “I realized I should be a physician if I wanted

to work in healthcare.”

When she brought up the idea of going to medical school, she remembers people asking her, “why would they ever want a woman engineer in med school?” but McCall was far too passionate and determined to let these outside voices influence her.

She graduated magna cum laude and was promptly accepted to medical school at Georgetown University.

“It was really a wonderful experience,” McCall said about Georgetown. “The kicker in the whole thing, which is very unusual, is that one of the students in that summer science program from high school was also at medical school with me… and I married him!”

She and her husband got married between their second and third year of med

Archives/Courtesy

school and then went into their residences together at University of Pittsburgh. Intelligence runs in the family too; both of their children would become successful engineers as well.

While McCall’s life was flourishing, obstacles still presented themselves along the way, but she found brilliant ways to overcome them.

“Tuition started increasing significantly for medical school. I had saved $3,000 from working, but prices were going up to $12,000,” she said. Her next move was bold and unprecedented: she joined the military.

“I joined the Air Force and I received a military scholarship for medical school.

It was a great experience. I had my daughter during my residency - she was terrific and I was able to do active duty during my breaks. I learned a lot,” McCall said.

After her residency, she was assigned to an air force base in Nebraska, where she lived for four years while working in their strategic headquarters. As if this wasn’t remarkable enough, McCall was even promoted to Major in the Air Force Reserves.

However, the drawback was that she and her husband couldn’t be assigned together.

“We both left the military and got jobs in upstate New York in private practice for a while. Then I did nursing home work, I was the medical director at St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital, and I also helped with a merger for two hospitals in my community,” McCall said.

After being the medical director of three different hospitals, one of which she helped save from bankruptcy, she discovered another passion.

“I wanted to look at bigger things, and I knew that healthcare reform was happening. I realized that payment mechanisms structure how people behave, so I felt that if I could be on the insurance side, I would be able to affect positive change,” she said.

After receiving another qualification in geriatric medicine and completing her master’s in medical management at Carnegie Mellon, McCall would go on to become

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MC’s First Women Continued from Page 9

the Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Central New York and Southern Tier regions, which is where she currently works.

“We’re working on something called value-based reimbursement, which is instead of having people pay for the procedure, they pay for the outcome. It’s a difficult transition, but we’re sticking with it,” she said.

She reflects back on this phenomenal career path with humility, and notes that even though her father wasn’t around, her mother played a major role in her journey.

“My mother came to live with us when we were doing our residencies, and she took care of my kids full time. She ran the house and shopped and did everything. Things were better for her then - we had a stable income, a better house, a nice community.”

She also attributes her success to being vocal about her desires: “If you want something, ask for it. I don’t wait for someone to think that I might like something, I just say, ‘I’d be interested in doing that project, taking that trip, going to that conference…’ I’ve gotten where I am because I like to work, I have pretty high energy, I’ve got a good smile, and I ask.”

In regards to women’s issues that are prevalent today, she says, “I think that different groups have different needs, and women do have needs that are different

than men’s. That’s why we need to speak up and let people know about them. I could say the same thing about transgender and gay communities - everyone needs to understand that the ‘usual’ isn’t going to deliver what everyone needs,” McCall said.

McCall graduated from here in 1974, which was the first year that women were officially accepted into MC. One of them was Dr. Lisa Toscano, who was one of six women enrolled that year.

Toscano had been considering Iona because she received a basketball scholarship, but they didn’t have a physical education program, which is what she wanted to study.

“They were having an open house here, and my mother said ‘let’s go look at Manhattan’ and I went, ‘Manhattan?’ I lived on City Island so I had never thought of it. But I came here, I saw the program, and I said, ‘I’m coming here’. I liked that it was small and very family oriented. All the Lasallian values that we talk about today attracted me even back then. It was that homey feel, the Christian brothers, and the faculty,” Toscano said.

What happened in her first semester was a huge milestone for MC: our division one women’s basketball team was founded, and Toscano was one of the first women who paved the way for it.

It was a challenging and humbling experience that ultimately turned into a success for Toscano, her teammates, and for the many gifted female athletes who would come after them.

“I didn’t think that it would happen.

It’s an interesting story; we kind of walked around and knocked on doors in Overlook and asked people if they had played basketball in high school. They would say, ‘I was on the JV team,’ and we’d say, ‘Ok, good enough!’ I remember the first year we looked like a real motley crew. The second year, more women came out and we got better. The third year, we won the Hudson Valley League, and my senior year we went varsity and got to play in Draddy Gymnasium,” she said.

At the time, there wasn’t even a bathroom for women in our gymnasium. To use the bathroom during practice or a game, the women would have to run all the way to the bottom floor of Miguel Hall.

Luckily that isn’t the case anymore, and our athletic programs have come a long way since those days - we now have ten D1 sports teams for women. Toscano certainly made her mark on MC when she attended here, but that was only the beginning of her prominence here.

“I graduated with a degree in physical education, taught at Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, and got my masters at Queens College in exercise physiology.

Then in my eighth year of teaching high school, MC called and asked me to teach Kinesiology, so I came back in ‘87 full time and I’ve been here ever since. I like the place a lot I guess!” she said.

Toscano now has a doctoral degree in education, and on top of being a profes-

sor, she was an athletic trainer as well. She reflects on her experiences here with fondness and appreciation.

“Each decade and each year brings new fulfillment - from my college days, to working with the athletes, and now teaching…

It’s been amazing. The kids are really great, and working with them keeps me young.

I still feel like I’m in college even though I’m an old lady!” she joked.

Although Toscano was part of the minority when she was here, she didn’t feel that way, and notes that her male peers and professors made women feel welcomed and supported. Today, there are actually more women enrolled in college than men, but women’s issues, such as the wage gap, are still unresolved.

“I think certainly we have a ways to go but at least we’re talking about it and it’s in the forefront. It wasn’t even talked about when I was in school, and if you did talk about it you were kind of an annoyance. So at least we’re discussing it now - that’s the good news - and I think women today are savvier than when I was in college. They’re just ahead of the game,” she said.

One of the most heartening aspects of Toscano’s story is that Alumni Hall, where she has taught kinesiology for almost thirty years, actually used to be the gymnasium where she played basketball when she went here. “My time here has been wonderful. I’m teaching on the same floors that I played ball on. Every once in awhile I do a jab step.”

1973 was the year that Manhtattan College became a coeducational institution and for the first time, both men and women had the same opportunity to live and learn at MC. Archives/Courtesy

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“Do you think your gender affect your experience as a MC student? If so, how?”

Sarah Pardede Freshman, Marketing and Global Business double major “Yeah definitely, I think that there’s this perception that if you’re a girl you’re not as smart as a dude. For example, even though my comments about something are sometimes more logical than those of my male classmates, the professor considers them more; It happens to me a lot in Economics and Marketing class.”

Joseph Seo

Mariah McCaughney

Freshman, Mechanical Engineering student

Senior, History and Philosophy double major

“No, I don’t feel like gender is a big problem in the school. Even though I am Asian and the school is pretty much white-based, they [MC students] have manners, they hold doors for each other and say thank you after someone does something nice for them.”

“I honestly don’t think my gender affects my experience here at MC. My economic background and the fact that I’m not an athlete affects more than the fact that I’m a female.

MC is one of the places during the day where I don’t feel as if everything is gender biased.”

MC Fraternity and Sorority Members Respond to the Idea of Coed Greek Life Adanna Carter Contributor

There has been recent nationawide discussions over whether coed Greek Life would solve some of the problems that fraternities and sororities pose on college campuses.

In September 2015 the New York Times ran an editorial by Walter Kimbrough the president of Dillard College, in which he argues that changes in Greek life would come, but forcing coed was not the answer.

While Manhattan College has not proposed coed Greek Life it is an interesting concept to apply to our campus.

The idea is that coed Greek Life would diminish the negative behaviors, improve community on campus, promote gender equality, avoid gender discrimination and

promote inclusiveness.

Many members of Greek Life, college officials, and university presidents have expressed their discontent with coed Greek life.

The responses from Greek Life members at Weylan University and Trinity College, who were being forced to go coed, shows that the feeling that this will be counterproductive.

“Being in a fraternity comes with a lot of benefits. You meet a bunch of people that are already at the school in the fraternity. Then you meet a bunch of people who aren’t in the fraternity but are friends with people in the fraternity and then the fact that my fraternity Alpha Phi Delta is a national fraternity we meet people from all over the country and the many alumni that come back to check up on us. Some with gifts , some with advice, and some with

job opportunities,” Malik Grant, a junior at Manhattan College and a member of Alpha Phi Delta, said.

“There would probably be different challenges the coed Greek Life might face like worrying about each individual more by trying not to offend anyone, along with removing the certain freedom that you get from just chilling with your boys or just hanging with your girls” he added.

“Guys do things different and think different than girls. And that’s not a bad thing it’s just you have enough ego dealing with just one gender to put them together would just add more chaos,” Grant said.

Another Manhattan College student and sorority member, sophomore Brianna DelSanto, had a different view towards a coed Greek Life.

“I don’t see how it would raise pressing issues. A coed frat/sorority is just brothers

and sisters under one entity. If anything, it seems more inclusive than a normal fraternity or sorority” DelSanto said.

“The only challenges it might face is how untraditional and unconventional it might seem. A lot of people who join sororities and fraternities join with that stereotypical image in their mind which might turn them away from a co-ed one” she said.

“I personally think a co-ed Greek life would be amazing to see on campus! I love new and interesting ideas being brought to life, and I think this is a new way to bring more diversity to our campus.”

Arts & Entertainment

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March 1, 2016

#BlackArtMatters Event Features Black Female Artists Tara Marin Asst. Editor

This past Saturday, Manhattan College Multicultural Center and Silent Noise Publishing Groups presented #BlackArtMatters, an event that showcased the talents of several Black poets, painters and photographers.

One of the artists, Tasha Douge, is a conceptual artist who also uses mixed media in her work. She is dedicated to creating art that challenges conventional ways of thinking.

“I take things that are familiar and transcend them,” Douge said. “I want to convey a message to women, empower them and make them feel good.”

One of her pieces, titled “A Song of You,” is inspired by songs that influence women. She compiled 34 song titles into a letter, which starts with “Dear Beautiful” and is signed with “From One Queen to Another.” Everything in between is a beautiful message of encouragement for women.

Another striking aspect of this piece is that Douge also includes a soundtrack for viewers to listen to while reading it. It features clips of the songs that are mentioned within the letter, such as “Flaws and All,” “Titanium,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Fight Song” and “Greatest Love of All.” Douge also enjoys taking objects that are deemed ugly and making them beautiful, and touches on the fact that women of color have a greater struggle with selfacceptance, which she understands and has had to endure herself.

One of her pieces is entirely inspired by negative words that are used against women, which she uses masks to represent.

“This is about recognizing the value of being black and wiping those negative words away,” Douge said.

A selection of some of the artwork featured in the show last Saturday evening.

Miranda Mennillo/Courtesy Elizabeth Banuelos, a mixed media artist who was born and raised in Los Angeles, draws her inspiration from the world.

“My art is my interpretation of society and how it views women. All of my paintings have hidden messages,” Banuelos said. One of her paintings is of a woman, but she is entirely made up of words that Banuelos burned onto the canvas.

Natalie Sturgess is a writer and painter based in Brooklyn. She admits that her painting is an emotional outlet for her.

“I wait and I look at something until it talks to me. I’m a booker for a catering company, so stress is always super high at work - painting is a relief for me,” Sturgess said.

What is especially intriguing is that many of her pieces are painted on objects that she finds, for instance, one of her abstract paintings was done on a slate of wood that she found on a walk one day.

Kelly Prevard, an acrylic painter, garners her inspiration from racial and social

issues.

“A lot of my pieces are very political. They’re a statement about the world through my eyes,” Prevard said. “One of them portrays the experience of a young black child in America.”

All of this African American female art sparks an important conversation, and from it there emerges a strong sense of understanding and hope.

13 Arts & Entertainment Five Great Women of Scatterbomb Books by Open Doors for Women in Women Comedy You Should Read Tori James Staff Writer

Kieran Rock Editor

1.“We Should All Be Feminists” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Adiche makes a ton of relevant points in this extended essay adaptation of a TED talk she gave on the subject. Her message is clearly resonating around the world, as The Guardian reported every 16-year-old in Sweden would receive a copy of what they called “Adiche’s call to arms.” “We Should All Be Feminists” puts into words the argument for feminism infused narratively by Adiche’s own experiences.

2.“A Room of One’s Own” – Virginia Woolf Woolf’s book-length essay comes from a speech she was invited to deliver at Cambridge University about Women’s place in the literary canon. Woolf published the work in 1929 with the thesis stating “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” The other often referenced part of the work is Woolf’s inclusion of Judith Shakespeare, the fictional sister of William Shakespeare, as a way of showing how someone with the same skill as the most famous playwright would never publish because of the limitations imposed on their gender.

3.“Frankenstein” – Mary Shelley An important piece for its place among gothic and Romantic literature, with an intricate narrative and questions of science, power and the self. Also an important book on this list because there are some who would argue that Mary Shelley didn’t write “Frankenstein,” undermining the ability of the young woman to produce such an iconic work.

4.“Yes Please” – Amy Poehler The comedian details her life and journey through comedy. She talks about her days at SNL, her marriage, and her children. Poehler’s memoir feels like a conversation with her and makes you laugh throughout. She includes stories that are relatable and unbelievable at the same time. As Rolling Stone writes she can “drop life lessons like a boss.”

5.“How The García Girls Lost Their Accents” – Julia Alvarez This novel traces the stories of the García women and their maturation through youth and into adulthood. While it is in many ways a coming of age story, it is told in reverse chronological order showing us the issues the women face in adulthood and subsequently the childhood events that caused them. The novel interrogates the way their identity is shaped as young women emigrating from the Dominican Republican and how their family life affects their adulthood.

From Wiig to Schumer to Poehler and Fey, women today have been a dominating factor in the world of comedy. However, the typecast of women not being comedic figures is still commonly experienced.

At Manhattan College, we see the power of funny females firsthand in our own improv team Scatterbomb.

Out of the eleven members in Scatterbomb, there are three females; senior Carolyn Egan and sophomores Angela Benevenia and Madi Blecki. Despite being the minority in a male dominated group, Scatterbomb has helped open doors for these girls to thrive in the community of comedy.

“Everyone’s very supportive, especially because in improv you never know what’s going to happen,” Egan said. “I hear of a lot of other improv troupes where if a girl went on stage to do something one of the guys would objectify them or make them do something they don’t want to, but that has never been the case with our team.”

Destroying the idea that women aren’t as funny as men, these Scatter-ladies have done nothing less than impress their teammates and their Manhattan College peers.

“One time a guy approached me after a show and said ‘I didn’t think women could be funny until I saw you perform’ and it really shocked me,” Egan said. “None of the guys in Scatterbomb make me feel that way, if anything they treat me like I’m more funny than I actually am.”

The common gender stereotype of females being quiet, reserved and too polite to say anything inappropriate has always hindered women’s ability to be portrayed

as comedic characters, whether that be on television or in improv where they have constantly been made the butt of all jokes.

Nowadays, the game has changed as we see an influx of females flourishing in the business.

“I feel like people will always think women aren’t as funny as men, but that’s not even true anymore,” Benevenia said.

“For so long women in comedy were constantly trying to validate themselves and prove that they were funny, but now it isn’t a competition because everyone knows they already are.”

Recent statistics have shown that women make up 14.3% of comedic performers.

Even the amount of women in late night writer’s rooms is substantially lower than the amount of men due to the assumption that men cannot be funny around women and vice versa.

“I remember a really long time ago a boy once said to me, ‘you’re secretly really funny!’ Like it was a surprise or something, no one expected it because I was a girl,” said Blecki. “It shocks me people think this way because we can be funny just as men can be funny.”

However, improv comedy has proven to be different, especially in Scatterbomb where the members approach each scene as a blank slate and are able to decide which gender they are going to portray themselves as.

“When you’re improvising it’s hard to discern gender because everybody is a blank brain, then by using language and action we create forms and you can be whatever you want,” said fellow member of Scatterbomb RJ Liberto. “Look at Carolyn, I think she may have played a girl on stage three or four times, usually she’s a crazy old man! They come onto the scene being

whatever they need to be, they’re not a girl or a guy, they’re a person until their ‘role’ is established.”

Improv comedy also demands a great relationship among all team members, considering the success of every scene relies on their ability to work together; and having such a reliance on a strong group dynamic, teamwork is essential for the members of Scatterbomb, no matter what gender.

“You have to trust in the people you work with or else they will revert and the scene will not be funny, and that makes for bad improv,” said Benevenia. “That’s why building trust and having respect for all of your teammates is so important.”

“Last year we did a scene that I thought was set up as a veterinary office so I walked on holding a cat, but it really ended up being a movie theatre. It automatically made for a difficult situation, but my scene partner (Gavin Sass) was able to go with it; and even from that everyone was able to build a character off of this crazy concept and it ended up being one of the best scenes we’ve ever done,” said Egan. “I was being insane the whole time and they easily could have just bailed on me, but everyone was going with it; and that’s what makes good improv – everyone on stage being supportive when you’re going insane.”

Scatterbomb, as well as several other improv troupes, work today to defy the image that women cannot be funny – opening up doors in the comedy world for Amy’s and Tina’s everywhere.

“Improv taught me that in order to succeed while performing or even in everyday life you need to say, ‘I’m going to say this and this is my opinion and if you don’t like it, too bad,’” Egan said. “You have to be loud in order to be heard.”

Museum of Sex: Exploring Human Sexuality and the Human Body Abi Kloosterman Staff Writer

Throughout time, human sexuality has been seen as a taboo, either through the outright objectification of women or, on the other side of the spectrum, abstinence with a degree of fear.

Currently, The Museum of Sex is exhibiting “Hardcore: A Century and a Half of Obscene Imagery.” This edgy exhibit discusses the role of human sexuality in images. Essentially, the exhibit features the role of the human body.

Making way through the exhibit, one obscene image after the other graces the wall. At first, the alarming images bring about some, well, disgust. The images are truly obscene in every sense of the word, however what becomes interesting is the history behind it all.

At first glance each image represents some type of action. On the surface, obscene images are a very basic way of communicating desire, lust, love or objectification. Below the surface lay hundreds of years of history behind the role of gender in our understanding of human sexuality

and equality.

Undoubtedly, women have historically been second-class citizens, never having the ability to exercise their own rights, whether it is in education, the workplace or in democracy. The argument can also be made for sexuality.

This day in age, objectification is seen in movies, magazines, television and music. The use of women for a sole purpose of entertainment or sexual desire is common in our modern society of entertainment.

Of course, this is completely obvious, as women’s rights are constantly discussed across the globe.

The images from more than 100 years ago hanging on the walls of The Museum of Sex ask the question: how long has the objectification of women been present in human society and is it really objectification at all? The collected items from past lives offer two different ideas.

These images depict men and women engaging in certain acts that are most definitely taboo in our modern day and were unthinkable in their original time of debut.

This is where the debate between objectification and empowerment begins.

While some see the images as wholly

obscene, others see the images as a way for women, and men alike, to empower themselves from their societal bonds and be free to express themselves sexually or otherwise.

However, objectification also fits the criteria found in each image. Human bodies, namely women’s bodies, are being used to satisfy desire or depict unrealistic expectations of human sexuality. This is something that women today face in every music video or Instagram post: the potential to be exploited for the satisfaction of others.

Although the exhibit showcases quite alarming photographs, to say the least, it opens conversation concerning the rights of humans, especially women, in the realm of sexuality and the way in which it is depicted to an outside audience.

Regardless of personal opinion on the matter of obscene imagery, the exhibit at The Museum of Sex provides a look into a history of human sexuality that has never before been seen. These vanguard exhibitions perpetuate the importance of open conversation about gender, and its relation to sexuality.

Arts & Entertainment

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March 1, 2016

MC Student Creates Seaworthy Brand, Looking to Make Mark in the Fashion Industry Taylor Brethauer Asst. Editor

Not many students have the ambition and drive to create their own company while still in school, let alone design a brand of seersucker baseball hats.

But that is exactly what student Ryan Quattromani intends to do with his brand, named “Seaworthy.”

Quattromani is from Rhode Island, from a town called Westerly near the ocean.

He says he was inspired by the simplicity of the popular Good Life brand and started brainstorming from there.

“I ultimately became obsessed with the simplicity and adventure associated with the nautical lifestyle and began recognizing the exquisiteness and craftsmanship associated with nautical inspired fashion,” Quattromani said.

His “Seaworthy” brand is expected to be up and running in April, starting with “colorful, seersucker baseball hats,” all of which he designed himself with the signature Seaworthy text on the adjustable straps.

Even though the store has yet to open, he already has plans for the future of his brand including a second collection of hats called the “Safe Harbor Collection.” Eventually he wants to branch out to bow ties and nautical socks.

Quattromani is majoring in mechanical engineering, but calls himself an aspiring manufacturing engineer. He has been working close with the manufacturing of his hats so that they match what he has in mind perfectly so they can sell really well.

Once it is launched, he will be selling online (seaworthyri.com) and in a few small retail stores located in New England.

“I believe solely retailing products online will alleviate some of the cost and risk of creating a startup company - and perhaps freedom. I will have the ability to rebrand and add products for the convenience of my dorm room,” Quattromani said.

“Similarly, since the tendency towards consumer convenience is steadily growing, this will allow consumers the opportunity to purchase products from any Internet accessible location.”

The process, however, has been an interesting part of the experience. He spent most of his time at the ocean back home

brainstorming ideas, with a notebook and colored pencils by his side.

This has been a ten-month processQuattromani has been designing products, researching trademarking and patenting law, established Seaworthy LLC as an official legal entity and designed his website and social media elements.

“I’m not trying to be the next Giorgio Armani,” Quattromani said. “I think there is a type of uniqueness and perhaps, inventiveness to maintaining a personable company - a company people can relate to and feel. There is charm and an increasing amount of support for small businesses.”

Quattromani is really appreciative of the help and support he has received from friends and family.

His personable attitude has also helped him when it comes to establishing his brand, consistently asking himself “Will there be support?” Or “Will they be willing to support his endeavor?” But it’s been a

Ryan Quattromani, left, is working on establishing his own clothing brand, Seaworthy.

Ryan Quattromani/Courtesy good learning experience for him that he dices represent who you are. The only lahopes he can pass on to others interested in bel that matters, is the label you give yourself,” he said. “Don’t let others define you entrepreneurship.

“Being a student offers a never-ending and stay true to yourself. I think that’s all support structure whether it be legal or we need in life, to stay true to ourselves business advice from faculty, professional and never let anything stop us from accomguidance from guest speakers and alumni, plishing our dreams.”

For only starting out a business as a and even time freedom, regardless what student, Quattromani has been working students say,” said Quattromani.

“The only negative I’ve experienced in nonstop and done his research. Now, he starting my own business at a young age only has to wait for his hats to be released. is financial accessibility. Nonetheless, col- His influences-- family members, teachers, lege is a great time for students to develop influential businessmen, to name a few— inspire him to eventually motivate someor at least brainstorm a business idea.”

It is interesting to look into statistics one in his lifetime. His life will be changed based on males in the fashion world and for the better once his brand comes out and he is able to see the response and he is exfemales in the business industry.

Like most fields, there is an imbalance. cited to share his stories and advice with But Quattromani doesn’t think that should others.

“What’s frightening most, is that I still hold any one back, especially, as he believes, the media generalizes gender domi- have a long way to go,” Quattromani said.

“But I’m willing and excited for the chalnance in these systems.

“It’s important to never let false preju- lenge.”

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sports

Cheer Like a Girl

15

While the cheerleaders are active at most home basketball games such as Friday’s matchup against Iona College, they are not classified as a sport.

Kevin Fuhrmann/ The Quadrangle ors of cheerleading (often glossed over as experience. At the Manhattan Madness males, although some cheerleading teams, Michelle DePinho being girly or easy) taint it as a distraction pep rally held last semester, students were including Manhattan College’s, have one Senior Writer rather than a sport. given glow sticks to hold in the stands, but or more male members.

“I lift girls, so I’m equally as strong,” some students started throwing them at the “Once women were allowed formal On Friday nights, a Manhattan Col- senior captain Katie Smolko said. “Cheer- cheerleaders instead and caused a danger- schooling, cheerleading became feminized and sexualized,” Ladda said. “Society is lege team pounds the pavement in Draddy leading has been definitely one of the most ous situation.

“People are flipping in the air … some- more accepting of a woman cheering for Gymnasium, perfecting their agility, physically demanding thing I’ve ever strength and stamina. They run, train, lift done,” she said, listing a host of sprains, thing could go wrong,” Knight said. “Peo- sport rather than to play a sport relegated to concussions and black eyes that have en- ple can get really injured. Even administra- the sideline rather than a playing field.” and stretch. But are they athletes? tion doesn’t fully understand. If that glow Given cheerleading’s history, it is difThis is the Manhattan College cheer- sued.

“No matter how you classify a sport, stick hit me ... I’d be paralyzed or dead. It ficult to separate it from the issue of gender. leading team, and the answer to that very only takes one thing to happen.”

Some cheerleaders describe feeling objecquestion is at the center of a nationwide de- cheerleading fits,” Smolko said.

Junior captain Emily Knight says This discrepancy between the percep- tified for their looks rather than appreciated bate on whether or not college-level cheercheerleading takes stamina. tion of cheerleading and its dangers and for their skill because of it. leading should be considered a sport.

“You’re slapping your legs until you’re challenges may actually have to do with “People would literally stare at you and Court cases have made the legal defiit would make me uncomfortable when in nition clear: cheerleading is not a sport. A red,” she said. “It takes training and you gender.

Kimberly Fairchild, Ph.D. and associ- reality I’m doing athletics,” Sheehy said federal judge ruled that way in 2012 in a have to have endurance. Society says it’s ate professor of psychology, described the about looks she would get in high school. lawsuit brought against Quinnipiac Uni- easy because it’s girls.”

But the fact that their effort goes with- cultural history of sports and how gender “…Just because I’m wearing a skirt doing versity. The ruling said Quinnipiac had it, doesn’t mean anything.” violated Title IX regulations when it re- out the label of ‘student athlete’ has left roles factor into them.

“Going back 100 years, 200 years, To an extent, that kind of experience moved its women’s volleyball team and some cheerleaders dissatisfied.

“We cannot have a competition team sports [were] something that was male- continues into college. replaced it with a competitive cheerleading “There have been times where like ranteam, because cheerleading was in fact not because we’re not one of the Title IX sports. dominated,” Fairchild said. “Men were It’s kind of like an intramural team,” cheer- supposed to be the ones showing strength, dom guys come up to us and try to take a a sport.

“The implications of this ruling pushes leader Brianna Sheehy said. “The things and women were supposed to be at the picture of us,” Smolko said. “So that’s a the issue for colleges and universities to de- that we do, I consider it a sport. We try to home and nurturing. And if we think about little strange. We just try and be positive.”

Knight also added that cheerleaders are mand and act in fair ways to both men and practice just as much and it’s just as im- what sport are … men’s sports like footwomen,” professor of kinesiology Shawn portant that we perform to the best of our ball, where there’s a lot of violence and ag- expected to look and act a certain way. As gression … isn’t appropriate for women to for looks, Knight talked about comments Ladda said. “Title IX was passed in 1972 abilities.”

The team is expected to practice, be be doing.” about the team on Yik Yak, an anonymous and still it is estimated that a large percent “I think the way the sports that gets … social platform. age of colleges and universities are not in present at all home men and women’s basketball games and travel with the teams to defined is in a male leaning definition, the “They called one girl fat, and ugly. It’s compliance with the law.”

The decision spurred controversy and the MAAC and NCAA tournaments. Even skills, the ability, the aggression,” Fairchild still degrading,” she said. “You wouldn’t intensified a national debate over whether so, it doesn’t have access to support servic- said, “all of those types of words that we say that to the women’s lacrosse team. I cheerleading is inherently an athletic en- es like athletic academic advising, priority typically associate with men instead of just got inducted into an honor society. [The notion that] you have to be a dumb blonde deavor or an accessory. People siding with class registration or facilities like locker women.”

So it may seem a little ironic that the to be a cheerleader, it’s so not true.” the ruling say cheerleading lacks some of space.

“We don’t get as many of the opportu- modern model of female-dominated cheerFor now, Sheehy hopes these gender the qualities that make up a sport, like a scoring mechanism or official rules. Crit- nities that we get. We do not get scholar- leading is actually a far cry from its origi- norms will begin to change. nal model as an all-male activity at various “We had a guy try out for the cheer ics of the ruling, like medical profession- ships to do it,” Sheehy said. “[We get] none of the same breaks that colleges and universities. Cheerleading team and it kind of broke the norm,” she als and cheerleaders themselves, argue that cheerleading is not only a sport, but one of athletes do,” junior captain Emily Knight squads began as men’s “yell squads” or said. “It’s not awkward to do this. We were the most physically challenging and dan- said. “We don’t get to pick our schedule “pep squads” that would amp up the crowds all really accepting of it. That can definitely first. We’re practicing at night from 9 until at football games. Only decades later did start breaking down the barrier that cheer is gerous ones. women begin to join, in the 1920s through a girly sport.”

In the middle of this back-and-forth 11 [at night].”

Knight said a lack of understanding 1940s. are the cheerleaders at Manhattan College, Now, it is entirely dominated by fewho say a lack of understanding of the rig- from administration contributes to their

Sports

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Money in Manhattan Athletics Number of Male and Female Head Coaches

Average Institutional Salary Per Head Coach Men's Teams Women's Teams

$78,475

12 1 Total Revenue Men's $1,995,054 Basketball Women's $1,434,445 Basketball 15 Other Sports $5,974,356

$49,163

53% Of Athletically Related Student Aid Goes to Women's Teams

$2,790,757 Other Notable Numbers Men's teams spent $127,864 on recruiting, while women's teams spent $110,026 Men's basketball had the highest game-day expenses at $482,568 (28% of all teams expenses) Men's and women's basketball constitute 30% of all team expenses

Statistics gathered from U.S. Department of Education from reporting year 7/1/2014 - 6/30/2015 Daniel Ynfante/ The Quadrangle