THE Volume 92, Issue 11
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UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924
Nov. 17, 2015
Q UA DSTO C K
S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 1 , 1 2 P. M . — 2 P. M . I N S M I T H AU D I TO R I U M
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Life as Department Chair Stephen Zubrycky Staff Writer
College faculty and administration have been known to have their differences in priorities – not just at Manhattan College. This creates a particularly tough challenge for department chairpersons, who are caught somewhere between being faculty members and administrators. Balancing this dual role is particularly difficult for department chairs – especially Constantine Theodosiou, Ph.D., acting chair of the biology department, and fulltime dean of the School of Science. Theodosiou said that depending on the institution, chairs can have more administrative or faculty roles. Here at Manhattan College, their role “has been more faculty representatives and less administrators,” Theodosiou said. Despite this, Theodosiou argues that the converse would be more beneficial, saying, “I like more the alternative.” Regardless, much of the workload of a department chair is already in an administrative capacity. “My responsibilities include scheduling courses, so I schedule all of the faculty’s courses for the fall and the spring semesters, and I make sure the students get all the courses they need to graduate and to accomplish their goals,” said Lisa Anne
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Inside Manhattan College’s Security and Fire Safety Annual Report RikkiLynn Shields Staff Writer
This year’s Security and Fire Safety Annual Report was issued on Sept. 16 of this year by Public Safety and details crime statistics, fire information and related policies. But how does this document come together, and more importantly, what does it mean for students? Each January, the 50th Precinct submits the local crime reports to Manhattan College. Public Safety then takes it into their own hands, adds in campus-specific crime reports, and compiles the Security and Fire Safety Annual Report. New to this year’s report is the breaking out of different sex offenses into specific categories, rather than listing them under the umbrella term of “sex offenses.” This is a direct result of changes to federal legislation. In March 2013, President Barack Obama signed legislation called the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which included new provisions to end sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence. Before the reauthorization act, all colleges and universities were expected to make a good faith effort in submitting their annual crime report, but it wasn’t speci-
fied how they would report distinct sex offenses. During that year and previous years, sex offenses were either categorized as “forcible” or “non-forcible.” VAWA finally came out with clarification in 2014, implementing a new way of reporting sex offenses more specifically. It was finalized that sex offenses would be reported much more clearly than in the past. Colleges and universities were required to report if the sex offense was a rape, a fondling, incest, statuary rape or another category. The goal was to make the sex offenses more transparent than in previous years of reporting the incidents. That particular year is when Manhattan College added domestic violence, dating violence and stalking to the crime reports. Colleges and universities were also required to state what preventive programs were being held on campus for incoming students and employees, and any other campaigns that were going to be held during the course of the year for the campus community. Manhattan identifies all of the crime reports and preventative programs on campus in the Security and Fire Safety Report as required. “It’s a team effort now. It’s no longer just a public safety department responsibility. We need the help from residence life, the counseling center, the dean’s office,
athletics and other offices on campus,” Juan Cerezo, the director of public safety at MC, said. “If they have any programs in place that will help prevent sexual assault, public safety needs to be aware of it. Although it was never anyone else’s responsibility but ours, everyone is cooperating.” In the crime report this year, there is also a new category of offenses called “unfounded crimes.” Unfounded crimes aren’t limited to sexual assault. Instead, any crime that Public Safety is required to report to the appropriate authorities is listed under unfounded crimes. If a student files a report with the police department and the crime ends up being baseless, as soon as the detective determines that for a fact and shares the information with public safety, it needs to be listed in the crime report. If the crime is reported only to Manhattan, public safety cannot determine if a crime is unfounded, so the next step is for the law enforcement to take it into their own hands and determine the outcome. Another notable change is in the number of off-campus drug offenses. In previous years, the college’s security report showed 0 drug abuse violations on public property. This year, the NYPD reported that they had made five drug related off-campus arrests this past year. This change could possi-
bly be attributed to better reporting by the NYPD, stricter enforcement, or both. Public safety is also heavily involved in not just implementing federal but also New York State legislation regarding sexual assault on campus. The “Enough is Enough” Legislation was implemented in the state in June 2015. Colleges and universities in New York State were required to be in compliance with most of the new rules by Oct. 5 of this year. The “Enough is Enough” Legislation focuses on three big features: the Student Bill of Rights, drug and alcohol amnesty and affirmative consent. The purpose of a Student Bill of Rights is in place to inform students of their rights in any type of situation that involves witnessing or being a part of any sexual misconduct. This bill is available to students online and on campus. “The bill of rights is all about letting the students know what their rights are,” Cerezo said. The drug and alcohol amnesty serves as a requirement for colleges and institutions to adopt a policy that when students report sexual misconduct or assault, or are a part of an incident, they are not subject drug testing.
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The
Notes from
opinions & editorials
Quadrangle www.mcquad.org
Vol. 92 Issue 11 Nov. 17, 2015
Sean Sonnemann Editor-in-Chief Michelle DePinho Managing Editor/News Editor Anthony Capote Asst. News Editor Kieran Rock Managing Editor/Features Editor Ally Hutzler Asst. Features Editor Lauren Carr Arts & Entertainment Editor Lindsey Burns Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Jon Reyes Sports Editor Jaclyn Marr Asst. Sports Editor Daniel Ynfante Asst. Sports Editor Victoria Hernández Kristie Killen Social Media Editors Kevin Fuhrmann Photography Editor Vanessa Sanchez Asst. Photography Editor
Nov. 17, 2015
The Editor
It’s hard to believe there is less than a month left of classes this fall semester. As the college community gears up for the much-anticipated Thanksgiving break, The Quadrangle will deviate from our normal publication schedule for one week to accommodate the holiday. Our next issue will hit stands Nov. 24, the Tuesday before we leave for Thanksgiving. Be sure to pick one up before you leave! The Quadrangle makes for some excellent light reading while you (unfortunately, but inevitably) sit in gridlock traffic on the way to grandma’s or nurse your turkey hangover. Instead of putting out a new issue on Dec. 1, the Tuesday immediately after the holiday weekend, we will publish our final issue of the semester on Dec. 8. This hiatus allows our staff, editorial board and photographers to enjoy the holiday weekend and prepare a strong final issue. The Quadrangle staff looks forward to delivering relevant, timely content to our readers for the remainder of the semester in print, as well as online at mcquad.org and on Twitter @mcquad. We encourage you to follow us on our social platforms to stay current on news that may occur in between print editions. Michelle DePinho News & Managing Editor
Kelly Burns Luke Hartman Natalie Heinitz Production Editors Daniel Molina Distribution Manager 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.
John Abbatangelo/The Quadrangle
news
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New Student ID Scanners to be Implemented in Leo Building Kelly Burns & Kieran Rock Editors
On Sept. 20, 2015, in an email to the Manhattan College community, Public Safety released the details of an attempted robbery in the Leo Building. The incident, which took place in stair case B, involved an MC student and a 6’1” male, of dark complexion, 35-40 years old, who was “highly intoxicated and attempted to enter a non college meeting,” according to the email from Public Safety. Recently, Public Safety has taken steps towards new security measures in the Leo Building. “The talk about adding access controls was brought up a year ago and prior to this incident that just happened,” Juan Cerezo, director of Public Safety, said. Currently, Public Safety along with Charles Lippolis, who is in charge of the ID office, are working with vendors to determine the pricing and logistics of a new swiping system in Leo. “It will be the same type of system we have in the residence halls,” Cerezo said. “We are doing the doors that are usually used by the students. The door at the north end by Gaelic Park, that’s the one that is mostly used by the students coming from Kelly Commons.” “Right now we had a company that did a walk through,” Cerezo said. “We are now in a position to invite a second vendor to compare pricing.” “The first company that came in is called M Zion Security. We didn’t get the official quote back yet from them,” Lippolis said. “The other company coming next week is Abway. It will probably take two to three weeks to decide on the vendor because it’s rather extensive work to secure the entire perimeter,” he said. “First we have to get the bids and then we determine which one to go with. Once that’s done then we can start working,”
Cerezo said. “The early part of next year the work should definitely get started,” Lippolis said. Of the current security in Leo, Cerezo said that the building is well covered. “We have a lot of cameras in that building. The parking lot is very well covered with the cameras we have in place and we haven’t had any incidents in the parking lot,” he said. “We do vertical patrols in the building and the building is also alarmed.” Cerezo also asks for MC students using the Leo Building to aid in the security process. “We encourage everybody to help
us with the security of the building. Not to hold doors open for people they don’t know, and also not to prop the door open. Not only is it a fire violation but its also a security problem,” Cerezo said. Public Safety has also made some changes to their patrols in response to students concerns. “I know a lot of students are concerned about going from Leo to the Waldo path,” Cerezo said. “So he does patrol that area. It was mentioned to me yesterday and we reinforced it.” One student who often uses the Leo Building is junior chemical engineering major George Schlinck. “I honestly can’t think of any cons to
Michelle DePinho/The Quadrangle that,” Schlinck said of the addition of the security measures proposed. “After the recent incident in Leo I feel like that’s kind of necessary. In fact, I was kind of confused that there wasn’t security in Leo at all in the first place,” he said. Cerezo believes that students will get used to the new system when they are installed. “It’s a matter of getting used to it. I think it will be well accepted,” he said. “Everyone is concerned about the security of that building, including the students.”
Inside Manhattan College’s Security and Fire Safety Annual Report Continued from page 1
“A lot of students don’t come forward because they were using drugs or alcohol, especially in sexual assault cases,” Cerezo said. “We want students to know with the amnesty program, if you come forward, we want you to report to us the facts you know. Whether you’re a witness or even the victim, come forward, and even if you were drinking, we are not going to cite you or hold disciplinary action against you.” The last emphasis of “Enough is Enough” is affirmative consent. In Article 129-B of the “Enough is Enough” legislation, affirmative consent is defined as, “a knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create clear permission regarding willingness to engage in the sexual activity. Silence or lack of resistance, in and of itself, does not demonstrate consent. The definition of consent does not vary based upon a participant’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender ex-
pression.” Affirmative consent requires all colleges and universities to adopt a statewide uniform definition of consent. The uniform definition of consent is meant to make colleges and universities adopt the “yes means yes” policy, making sure that consent exists only when both parties clearly agree and everyone on campus understands what consent is exactly. “The affirmative consent confirms that there must be a clear, verbal agreement between both parties agreeing that they are willing to involve in sexual activity together. The fact that someone stays silent is never clear consent,” Cerezo said. But these are just the beginning of changes public safety plans to implement this year. “More IP [internet protocol] cameras were added on campus, covering almost the entire quad area and Walsh Plaza,” he said. This gives Public Safety much clearer pictures than before when they used analog cameras.
“Public Safety is also looking to implement more cameras in the O’Malley Library,” he said. The other big item being implemented is a public address system. In 2012, public safety invited the fire department and Con-Ed to discuss an emergency drill and hold a mock exercise, simulating an explosion inside a vault holding a transformer on campus. The fire department determined that Manhattan could benefit from a public address system, and it could be used almost as a backup for E-2 Campus, the current emergency system that is sends alerts directly to the phones of campus community members. MC can expect the public address system to be in place by next semester. “We are trying to intensify our officers’ visibility,” Cerezo said. “Instead of just walking by, we are encouraging that they say hello to the students and intensify their patrol efforts. Some students are concerned about the walk from Leo back to campus, and around Post Road by Horan. We are enforcing the patrol to visit these locations
more often.” NYPD also held an operations ID workshop with an NYPD crime prevention officer in the Kelly Commons a few weeks ago. Students could register their electronics for the NYPD to put into their database. This is a preventative measure in the case that someone steals a student’s electronic device, the NYPD can track it more easily. Additionally, with the growing concern about the numerous cases of gun violence occurring recently on college campuses around the country, public safety decided to take initiative. David Erosa, assistant director of public safety, invited Lieutenant David Kalin with the counter terrorism and field intelligence unit at the NYPD to speak on campus. On Wednesday, Nov. 18th, Kalin will be coming to speak about emergency preparation and active shooter scenarios. “We try to take the proactive approach to community needs and, this is a great avenue, talking about the students’ concerns,” Erosa said.
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News
Nov. 17, 2015
Campus Master Plan Update Jaclyn Marr Assistant Editor
Manhattan College continues to work out details on expanding the campus in the coming years. The south campus will be developed by either renovating the Leo Building or designing an entirely new building for science, math, technology and engineering south of Leo’s current location. “The major component of the whole campus master plan is the new STEM building,” Andrew Ryan, vice president of facilities, said. “The next part that we are actually right in the middle of now is STEM study. They are looking at STEM as it exists now on campus.” Right now, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) majors are distributed amongst the Research and Learning Center, Hayden Building and the Leo Building. The STEM study is looking at what is happening in each of the three buildings in regards to the School of Science and School of Engineering. Looking at those three buildings and the schools, Ryan said that these questions need to be answered: “What needs to be arranged to create more appropriate adjacencies? What needs to be renewed physically? And the big component, what needs to go into the new building? What’s the best to put into the building based on what we have now and where we are looking to go in the future?” At the Manhattan College Senate meeting in April, three different solutions were discussed. The first is to create a new 30,000 square foot STEM building with renovations to Leo, costing a total of $55 million. The second option is to spend $35 million more on Leo Building renovations than the first option, rather than build a new STEM building. The third and final option would be to demolish and build a new Leo Building.
Michelle DePinho/The Quadrangle This would give MC 120,000 square feet of new space, but is the costliest option, with a $125 million price tag. The master plan formerly included constructing either a quadrangle on south campus along with a new building across from the Leo Building, with talks of MC acquiring the land currently occupied by Karl’s Auto Body. However, these talks have stopped and Ryan said that it “probably won’t happen on that site” and the building could be built either north or south of Leo but will “more than likely” go south. Noting relationships with the surrounding community, Ryan said local residents
will be given copies of the new campus master plan. There will be a meeting for the community to hear and learn about the upcoming construction. “They [the local community] find out about it before we fully get a chance to explain it to them,” Ryan said. “They only hear bits and pieces of it. We will meet with them and explain everything we have on the radar screen. But we want our internal community to know about it first.” There will be a town hall meeting for the college on Dec. 1 to explain the master plan and Ryan said the meeting for the surrounding community will be soon after.
Presently, some aspects of the campus master plan are already underway. The first phase of the master plan includes renovating the former dining hall, Dante’s Den, in Thomas Hall. Several offices and centers will move into it, including the centers for academic success, graduate advisement and career development, the study abroad office, the writing center, academic support for athletics, the specialized resource center, student financial aid and graduate admissions. Demolition and construction will begin in about a month and Ryan predicted the offices would be ready by the end of the spring semester.
Life as Department Chair
Continued from page 1 Rizopoulos, Ph.D., professor and chair of the education department. Scheduling courses can be an arduous and difficult. Chairs have to fulfill their obligations to provide enough courses at opportune times, not only for students in their majors, but also for students in outside majors. “The chair has to look at what needs to be offered in total, and the chair needs to have it that not everybody gets exactly what they wanted, because the department as a whole needs to offer the courses at the times they need to be offered,” Provost William Clyde said. Scheduling courses can be especially difficult in some departments such as English and mathematics – both of which have large numbers of students from outside majors enrolled in courses they offer – called service courses. In the School of Science, where the programs have looser curricula than in the professional schools, the role of the chair is more difficult, Theodosiou said. “We’re challenged by the diversity of the courses we have to schedule,” he said. The role of chair is spelled out clearly in the Faculty Handbook, and is roughly the same across all departments at the College. “They’re responsible for the same pool
of activities, but that pool looks different in different departments,” Clyde said. Those variations can be anything from the number of majors, to the number of service courses, to accreditation. That pool of activities is different in the School of Engineering than in the other schools, Ward said. “Each program in engineering, if it’s an accredited program, is accredited separately. Unlike the School of Business or the School of Education where the entire school is accredited, in engineering it’s individual programs,” Ward said. “They have to make sure that they’re staying on top of their assessment and doing all those types of things.” “It’s a major part of the way we’re organized,” Ward said. Chairs sign on to a four year term after being selected. The selection process can be cumbersome. First, the dean must discuss possible chairs with the faculty in the department. After this, the dean will nominate a candidate and put that person to an up-or-down vote in the department. If the nomination passes, the dean must bring the nominee to the college president, who will accept or reject the nomination. In some departments, the next chair can be in waiting before the incumbent chair even leaves office. “We rotate chairs,” said Ricardo Dello Buono, Ph.D., professor and chair of the
sociology department. Though there has been no formal election for the next chair yet, Dello Buono said he can “pretty much guess who it’s going to be.” The education department has also had a chair rotation. “Another faculty member did it for four years, then Brother Gus did it for four years, and now it’s my turn,” Rizopoulos said. “But I think they’re going to be hiring from the outside for the next chair.” This is not an uncommon occurrence. Under certain circumstances, deans will seek to hire an outside chair. Dello Buono was one such hire. “It’s usually for a reason, like the department’s decided they want new blood, or a new perspective,” he said. It has happened, however, that the dean cannot find a chair from within the department or from the outside. This is what is unfolding in the biology department, where the dean is the acting chair. “The faculty had expressed the need for an outside chair to change the department’s outlook,” Theodosiou said. When Theodosiou could not find a chair, he took the position himself, saying, “It’s my responsibility to have a successful department.” Hiring outside chairs can be costly, however – especially in the case of biology. According to Theodosiou, the cost associated with hiring an outside chair may mean terminating a visiting professor within the
department. Regardless, Theodosiou argued that chair compensation should be higher, given the responsibility associated with the position. Currently, chairs are compensated with an annual three course release, but no stipend or extra pay. “If I ask them also to do planning and leadership, you have to reward that,” Theodosiou said. “A chair is a very important and responsible position in our structure. They need support from above and below.” The chairperson continues to assert itself as an important position in the Manhattan College administrative structure. “Chairs play a really critical role. Chairs are coordinating the faculty. They have a hard job, but it’s really a critical job,” Clyde said. Despite the power and responsibility, being a chair can prove to be just as rewarding as being a non-administrative faculty member. “It’s very exciting because this is outside of my comfort zone,” Rizopoulos said.
features
Rani Roy’s Remarkable Journey
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Tara Marin Staff Writer
The process of applying for graduate school, fellowships, and summer research programs can be scary, but every year at Manhattan College, an abundance of students accomplish it with the help of The Center for Career Pathways. Rani Roy, Ph.D, the assistant vice president for student and faculty development, is one of the most important forces behind this. During their transition, the department oversees all students and ensures that they are prepared and supported while paving a pathway for their future. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at Columbia University, she received her doctorate at Cornell University, with a focus in cartilage tissue engineering. “When I went on my academic job search, I realized I didn’t want to be a professor in academia and I didn’t want to be at a research tier one institute. I just wanted to work with students,” Roy says. During her postdoctoral work at The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, she conducted mineralized tissue research and spent time managing summer medical students, undergrads, and Ph.D students. Roy says that working with those students was a major highlight of that year for her, but she still loved the other work she was doing. While finishing her postdoc, she decided to volunteer for a nonprofit where she worked with middle schoolers and high schoolers who were participating in summer research internships. Reflecting on her experiences with students, Roy felt fulfilled. This inspired her to seek jobs in college administration, because she believed that the college population would benefit most from her background. She landed a job at Columbia University’s Center for Career Education as a career counselor for graduate and doctoral students, where she worked her way up to associate director. It wasn’t long before she decided to make another change. “Their department wasn’t academic affairs, and it wasn’t really student affairs -
Rani Roy/Courtesy it was career education. I was looking for something that was more closely in line with academic affairs. I wanted that experience,” Roy said. After two years at Columbia, Roy started working for MC in the fall of 2012, since the department here was more aligned with her preferences. “I still wanted a little bit of the career development world - I love that - I still consider myself a career counselor in many ways. I wanted a place where I could see more of the academic affairs and I thought that the grad school advising here was a really good fit for that,” Roy said. Many changes took place with Roy’s arrival. One of the first things she did was propose the Research Scholars Program, which quickly proved to be a successful idea after growing immensely over the past three summers. “This summer, there were over 60 students. It’s been really amazing to see a community of engaged scholars over the summer,” said Roy. She and her colleagues also realized that students and parents tend to see graduate schools, fellowships, and pre-professional advising as a part of career development, which she agrees with. They subsequently came up with The Office for Career Pathways as the umbrella office for all of these affairs. “We’re really trying to say that we’re
all one team and we’re trying to help students - it doesn’t matter what they’re looking for after they graduate. We want to help them succeed on whatever career path,” Roy said. Over this past summer, Academic Affairs reorganized into functional units, making Roy the assistant vice president and giving her many different units to manage - study abroad, graduate school and fellowship advisement, The Jasper Research Scholars, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Grants Administration and Community Based Learning. This is a hefty load of work to handle, and Roy admits her daily life entails complete craziness. Luckily, she works with a team of other faculty members in continually striving to guide students and faculty, and determine a vision for what each area should be prioritizing. Elly Mons, the new assistant director of graduate and fellowship advisement, will be working with Roy to oversee students and faculty and balance the many responsibilities of the department. Mons and Roy have worked closely here before, they love working together and share a passion for guiding students and faculty. “I’m really looking forward to this because I’ve been at the college since September 2014 as the study abroad coordinator, and I’ve worked with Rani on the Fulbright Scholar applicants,” Mons said.
Another faculty member who works alongside Roy is Rachel Cirelli, director of career development. Cirelli attributes Roy’s success and influence to her wellroundedness. “She has a firm grasp of data and assessment, though can also build quick and strong rapport with students and counsel them through their professional and academic concerns. She has a doctoral degree in engineering - but can lead the most artistic of students in their job search and to their career goals. She is an invaluable asset to the college,” Cirelli said. Cirelli also explains that being in constant collaboration with Roy isn’t hard. “We share a bond which centers around our commitment to helping students finding vocations of meaning and purpose, as well a a drive towards excellence in how we serve students and represent the college. Working with her is one of the true highlights of my position!” Cirelli said. When she isn’t immersed in her work, Roy spends her time with her family. She lives in Inwood with her nine-year-old son Nikash, her dog, and her husband, whom she met 17 years ago while they were completing their undergraduate work at Columbia. From Roy’s exceptional career in the medical field to her outstanding work at MC, her ambition to help others in their academic endeavors has seemed to only grow stronger with time.
Students Take Part in Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice Taylor Brethauer & Melissa Gallardo Staff Writers
On Nov. 7, a group of Manhattan College students traveled down to Washington D.C. to participate in the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, where high school and college students attended workshops and listened to key-note speakers touch on social justice topics such as environmental justice, human rights in Central America and immigration reform. Founded 18 years ago, the Teach-In started in response to six Jesuit martyrs and their two family companions who were killed on Nov. 16, 1989 in El Salvador during the civil war. People realized they needed to respond not through protest but by changing policy and looked into the underlying structural elements of poverty, racism, war and violence that caused these things to happen to begin with. Activists people took to Washington D.C. to try to change policy. The event has been going on every year in an effort to raise awareness about the power of advocacy and to make the voice of young people heard on Capitol Hill.
“It was a positive environment and it felt really fulfilling being there and being able to feel like you’re making a difference. It was an inspiring thing to see so many young people come together and stand up for what they believe in,” sophomore Allison Ready said, who went on the trip. It was a two day conference on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8. Over the course of the first day there were keynote speakers including Sister Helen Prejean, Dr. Maureen O’Connell and Rudy López. There were also small breakout sessions where participants discussed fair trade, volunteering after graduation, the LGBT community and how they fit into the Catholic world and how people can be more loving. On Sunday, there was training from Capitol Hill lobbyists who work for immigration reform, environmental policy and human rights in Central America. “It was an amazing experience that helped illuminate the radical powers of advocacy. That we are voters and citizens and therefore we should be exercising our right to have a voice in our government,” Campus Minister Conor Reidy said. Finally, on Monday, the students went to Capitol Hill with over thousands of students and got ready to have meetings with
Victoria Hernández/The Quadrangle representatives and senators. They met with one of the aids that works for Senator Chuck Schumer who was an expert on immigration reform. “It was an amazing experience. I never thought that words could make such a difference. Talking to a representative in Chuck Schumer’s office was an amazing opportunity and it was very satisfying coming back and knowing that my opinion was heard by someone of authority,” junior
Christopher Hoey said. With the Teach-In touching on topics relevant to current events, students were able to leave with a lasting impact based on the speakers and the experience of the lobbying itself. “We need to be able to make our voice heard on these issues,” Reidy said.
Features
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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: City Island Stephen Zubrycky Staff Writer
New York City can be quiet. New York City can be peaceful. And, most surprisingly, New York City can be quaint. This is what one learns when one ventures far to the east of Riverdale – to City Island, on the other side of The Bronx. A small mile-and-a-half-long island in the Long Island Sound, City Island has developed a reputation for being New York City’s only “small fishing village.” The nautical atmosphere on City Island is real. There are countless seafood restaurants and seafood shops – many of which are located directly on the water. At the heart of the island is City Island Ave., which runs the length of the island from the City Island Bridge at the north end, all the way to the southern tip of the island. City Island Ave. is an ideal walking destination. Along this strip are the Island’s small businesses, which include antique shops, restaurants, grocery stores and an unexpectedly large number of tackle shops. Near the corner of Fordham St. is City Island’s center of commerce. This is where the greatest concentration of shops and restaurants are located, including the humble City Island Diner, Papa John’s Deli and the New York Public Library. Located near this intersection is Kaleidoscope Gallery, a novelty toy and nicnac store. Kaleidoscope Gallery features a wide collection of novelty items, including locally made candles, soaps and home décor. On City Island Ave., just north of Hawkins St. is Filomena’s Pizza, an oldschool slice-joint which offers a plethora of traditional pizza variations. At the south end is Sammy’s, which occupies several blocks on either side of City Island Ave. In addition to serving up classic American seafood variations, Sammy’s and its constituent restaurants
Staff Writer
Ashley Cross, Ph.D. is a professor of English at Manhattan College. Cross has been a professor at Manhattan for 19 years, and is currently in her fourth year as the Chair of the English department. She grew up in Middlebury, VT, worked as a waitress and soda jerk throughout high school, and considered herself to be very willful. “When I was very little I was quite rambunctious. When I went to high school, I was a very good student and did all of the things I was supposed to. Though, I always had a division between being a good girl at school and bad at home. My parents would go to conferences at school and the teacher would say ‘Ashley is so lovely and great’, and my parents would respond, ‘That’s not my child!’” Cross said. Cross attended Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Penn. where she got her degree as an English major and philosophy minor. For two years, she was a math major, and took all of the core math classes. After taking a poetry class, Cross realized what she really loved was English. “I was always better at math on the SAT’s, but I always had a love for English and modern poets, like T.S. Elliot and W.B. Yeats,” Cross said. After graduating college, Cross put
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Manhattan Madness Returns Daniel Molina & Jaclyn Marr
Distribution Manager & Assistant Editor
Stephen Zubrycky/The Quadrangle (Sammy’s Fish Box, Sammy’s Shrimp Box, and others), offer sweeping views off either side of the island. Next to Sammy’s is the storied Lobster Box restaurant, another American-style seafood restaurant which overlooks the Long Island Sound. For a dose of City Island history, the City Island Nautical Museum offers exhibitions on the Island’s history and fishing heritage. Located on Fordham St., just east of City Island Ave., the museum is open on Saturday and Sunday. City Island is home to a handful of parks. At the north end of the island, near the City Island Bridge, is a small community park, with many benches overlooking
the Sea Shore Restaurant, the Pelham Bay and the mainland Bronx. City Island is not accessible by subway, only by car or bus. City Island Road, the aptly named road which connects the bridge to the mainland, is especially quaint. The road winds through several traffic circles in a woodsy atmosphere in Pelham Bay Park, New York City’s largest public park. The atmosphere on City Island is much different from the atmosphere of the rest of The Bronx – or of New York City, for that matter. It’s more suburban, it’s more quaint, and it’s markedly quieter. The sidewalks are empty (during the non-summer months). The atmosphere is really more
reminiscent of a New England shore town. It’s no wonder that one of City Island’s epithets is “Martha’s Vineyard with a Bronx accent.” City Island provides a getaway – a quick escape from the chaos and sensory overload that can be characteristic of New York City life. However, as one crosses the City Island Bridge, one can very plainly see the tall spires of the Manhattan skyline – an ever present reminder that this is still New York. And that is the beauty of this place – a small, homey place to get away to – without really having to get away.
Work of a Jasper: Ashley Cross, Ph.D. RikkiLynn Shields
News
Nov. 17, 2015
herself through graduate school by working in a 24 hour convenience store. “After I finished graduate school, I was teaching in a college in Illinois for three years. I wanted to move, so I came to New York and was getting ready to adjunct, when Brother Horner, who was the chair then, hired me to be a visiting assistant professor along with Dr. Marinaccio. The next year, Manhattan was looking for professors, and since Dr. Marinaccio and I survived that search we became full time professors,” Cross said. After coming to Manhattan, Cross later found out that her great grandfather attended Manhattan College, along with her great uncles, one who was a supreme court justice in New York City and the other was a police commissioner. Here at Manhattan College, Cross teaches a variety of English classes such as First Year Seminar and College Writing, non-majors and English majors, and core classes. Some classes she teaches include Introduction to Literary Study, along with the second part of the British Literature Survey, Literature by Women, Gender Literature, and Literary Criticism. Cross is motivated by the ever-new exposure she has as an English professor. “I love reading and writing. I love my subject matter, and I love my students. I think young people are amazing, alive, interesting and engaging,” Cross said.
Ashley Cross/Courtesy Along with teaching, as a professor Cross also works on her scholarship, research, committee work and service on campus. She also chooses speakers and organizes events for students. Currently, Cross is finishing up her book, which will be released in July 2016. The book is about Mary Robinson, a late eighteenth century writer. “Mary Robinson had a very flamboyant life. She was a celebrity for her time. She was an actress, had an affair with the Prince of Whales and then went on to become an author of some renown. The book is about her relationship
to all romantic writers like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Wollstonecraft, Godwin and Southey.” The three people that Cross considers to be huge influences on her life and her work today, she says would be Mark Taylor and June Dwyer, previous faculty members at Manhattan College, and her mom. “They are role models, and my mentors in all kinds of ways.” Cross considers working as a professor at Manhattan College the most interesting and wonderful job she has ever done. “I think teaching is a very rewarding profession. It’s a different kind of profession from other things. It’s always new, it always changes. Even if you’ve read and taught the same book ten times, it can still be different the next time you teach it,” she said. “Maybe because you notice something different, your students have changed or your life has changed. Then it becomes something new. Teaching is intellectually rewarding because it’s always changing.” Cross likes to remind her students to be passionate about what they do, and to be kind. “Fall in love. Try things. Challenge yourself. And I don’t mean fall in love with a person, although a person can be wonderful. Fall in love with something you do. Make yourself step outside of your comfort zone. College should rock your world, and it should change the way you see the world as well.”
A line of eager students decked out in Jasper green wrapped around Draddy Gym waiting for the start of the annual Manhattan Madness. It is that time of the year again—time to celebrate the beginning of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons. As the doors opened to Draddy, green and white pompoms were in the air as the cheer and dance teams welcomed students into the gym. Students raced to the tables to get tshirts representing The Sixth Borough, the student section at basketball games, before finding their seats in anticipation of the start of the event. Sophomore Melissa McVicker atteneded for the first time this year. “The music was great,” McVicker said. “I loved how everyone walked out to music and danced. I had a lot of fun. I enjoyed myself.” But before the festivities could happen, The Office of Student Activities had to make some decisions around an event that involved almost 75 percent of the student body of Manhattan College. The design and selection of the always popular Manhattan Madness t-shirt was a process held on Twitter, where students voted online for their favorite design. Last year, 2,700 green Under Armour shirts were available at Manhattan Madness. This year, 3,000 t-shirts were ordered, with the additional ones only made possible by changing back to a standard t-shirt. Although some students protested, John Bennett, director of Student Activities, preferred to allow more Jaspers to take a souvenir back to their dorms and homes. “It was one of those cases where the more shirts are the better,” Bennett said. “We’d love to have Under Armour again, but we’d like to make more students happy going home with one.” After the stands were packed, the lights went down and the cheers of the Sixth Borough resounded while the Pep Band started playing their rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “Centuries.” Both the cheer and dance teams performed at the event as the school celebrated basketball starting for the women’s basketball team and the defending back-to-back MAAC champion men’s team. “I’m excited for this season,” senior Rachel Harrison said. “Being able to see them win two years in a row and actually go to the playoff games last year was an amazing experience. We gained some powerful players for this season and I’m really excited to see what they do and what they bring to Manhattan. I don’t think the MAAC knows what’s coming this year.” Manhattan Madness happens every year, but it is a little bit more sentimental when it’s your final time either walking out with your name being called if you’re a player or watching and cheering if you’re a fan. “It was actually really upsetting,” Harrison said. “As sappy as it sounds, at one point I was just standing there looking around and thinking ‘Wow, this is it, this is my last Manhattan Madness.’” The evening was closed by the appear-
Kevin Fuhrmann/The Quadrangle ance of the special guest Lloyd Banks, a rapper who become popular with the group G-Unit. Banks gave a motivational speech to the Manhattan College community about the importance of education in one’s life.
With this year’s Manhattan Madness, another chapter of the Jaspers’ basketball history has begun. The Sixth Borough was present in full support to kick off the season and cheer on both new players and
seasoned veterans looking for their third consecutive MAAC championship.
8
arts & entertainment
Of Books and Ale
Nov. 17, 2015
This week author of “All the Best Things” gives readers an inside look of how this short story came to be and what is to come in his journey.
John Evans Guest Writer
I sit across from film director Matthew Lewis at a pub in Hastings, NY, clutching a copy of my latest book. After downing another mug of ale and a chicken sandwich, I hear him open to chapter one and read aloud. His precise and resolute tones echo through the busy corridor as a pack of drunk strangers comes rambling by. What none of them realize is that they are mere feet away from a novel’s inception and the culmination of almost four years of hard painstaking work. One of the mob, a young girl in her mid-twenties, accidentally knocks into me and notices the cane. It is leaning against the wall beside my leather jacket and tweed cap. “I’m so sorry,” she says in a frantic tone of voice. I tell her not to get hung up about it and return to chowing down on what’s left of my sandwich and my fries. By now, I’m a tad tired and more than a little full. But I know I’ve hit something. “It’s done isn’t it?” I say, hearing my friend rummage through the pages. He puts down the book. It hits the table with a muffled thud. “Damn right,” he says. “Now all we have to do is shoot it.” It has been this way since my first book, “Inside the Midnight Vale,” got off the ground. I send my manuscripts to my
confidant Samantha Moe, Moe then sends my manuscripts back to me, I send them to Lewis, and then Lewis negotiates everything else. The editing and publishing deal is usually simple. But nothing about this book has been easy or simple thus far. You see, “All the Best Things,” isn’t an ordinary novella, and it’s uniqueness stems from a plot that is not entirely fictional. Its protagonist, John Brennan, is obviously loosely based off of me. Apart from the first name, he too is blind and a folk musician. Yet unlike me, the John of the novella is rash, naïve, and even stupid—at least I like to think so. His outlook on life is simple, to live big and to dream hard. My philosophy has always been to live big and to dream wisely. Yet, the fruit of this wisdom, or insanity, has only just come to light. When I first put braille to paper some years ago, I was an ambitious freshman who hadn’t yet written a single book. Drawing upon my experiences as a folk singer in Riverdale and the Hudson Valley at large, I constructed a narrative rich with love, death and intrigue. What I could not have known then was that my life would eventually evolve into just that, all be it on a much smaller scale. Instead of becoming a folk musician prone to wild adventures, fresh contracts, and peculiar women, I found myself becoming a local poet faced with a broken heart, brain surgery and a host of brilliant memories. As a result, is it any wonder I felt in-
clined to return to the only book in which I confront myself? The lines between Brennan and Evans had become blurred somewhere along the road, but what divided us remained the same. Sorrow and experience had made me wise, whereas that naïve kid was still lost in his own trip of music and fury. The book explores the rise and fall of two rock enthusiasts living in the Hudson Valley. When bandmates John and Mark attempt to follow their dreams of becoming key figures on the local music scene, they find themselves ensnared in the intrigues of Mark’s ex-lover, Grace. Intent on recovering what is left of her romance, Mark quickly finds himself in conflict with his closest friend and his former muse. Meanwhile, John’s confidant and admirer, Cathy, does her best to keep the band afloat while restraining Mark’s increasing paranoia. It is around eleven now, and Matt has just stopped rereading the infamous Cathy scene in which she reveals Grace’s backstory to an oblivious John. Matt is smiling. “It’s a miracle just holding the damn thing in my hands,” I say, picking up the book. It is larger than I have been expecting. Lewis promptly reminds me of how much haggling it took just to get the cover art right. We laugh, and I buy him another beer. I have known Matt since we were children growing up in Ardsley, NY. Back then, we both wanted to be film makers. I bought a rickety old camera and reenacted scenes from “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry
Potter.” Matt acted out familiar moments from cinematic history. We were both heroes, both fools and both blithering idiots. Yet we adored every day of our minuscule fantasy. What we could not have known was that I would lose most of my vision to optic nerve atrophy. This made shooting films practically impossible for me. But I encouraged Lewis to carry on the art. Somebody had to. Therefore when I made up my mind to become a writer he had always discussed potentially adapting one of my books into a film. It will be some time before him and I can accomplish that goal. But we are on our way. At least the first step in that journey has been realized. Perhaps I will figuratively see my book on the screen someday. Sometimes a little bit of vision can go a long way. But as for now, I will content myself with my book and my ale. The rest is in God’s hands. Author’s Note There shall be a book signing for my latest work on November 21st at Doubledays Bar and Grill in Dobbs Ferry from 3 to 5pm. All are invited to come. Author Samantha Moe and filmmaker Matthew Lewis will be in attendance.
arts & entertainment
9
The Familyhood of the Traveling Dining Table A Breakdown of “The Dining Room” with Some of Its Actors
Leony Anne McKeown/The Quadrangle
Adanna Carter Staff Writer
Strap yourself in for a time traveling adventure to the 1850’s. Prepare for a journey that begins near the Great Depression and fluctuates towards the time traveling waves of today. “The Dining Room” is a throwback to traditional times in which obedience, propriety, and respect for elders were the norm. The play centers around the dining room table, which symbolizes the crumbling traditions of family; of how prominent sitting together and being together was back then for families and how in the modern world this tradition has deteriorated and lost its significance. It’s the death of the dining room. The dining room table is a stable, fundamental, representation of the change in traditional families throughout generations of different characters that reference each other, but do so by different families and different scenarios. One of the many scenarios starts with the father sitting at the dining room table reading his newspaper and eating his breakfast that his maid, Annie, has served him. The father has two kids who he reprimands constantly, enforcing proprietary and pure obedience. The kids ask if they can join their father for breakfast, in which he allows, instructing them not to be loud or too much of a nuisance. This scene illustrates the properness of that time and how strict the parents were and the high expectations they had for their children to behave in a certain docile way. Another scenario takes place during the time of a war. This family is running low on money and one of the maids is leaving. This scene starts with the maid sitting at the dining room table polishing silverware. Mikey, one of the children of the house wants to know why she’s leaving. He asks
if it has anything to do with him peeking at her in the bathroom, amongst other things, and promises to be cautious next time. The maid explains to him that it has nothing to do with any of those things, but the fact that she doesn’t want to do domestic work anymore. Mikey is extremely upset by this and asks her if she will marry the guy from church, have kids, if she will visit, and then yells that she won’t, rejecting her hug goodbye, and storming away. This scene illustrates the factors that cause struggles in a family and how these factors contribute to the crumbling of family traditions. A couple of scenes later there was a scene with a flirtatious woman and the handyman. The woman was divorced and flirting excessively with the handyman. The handyman tells her that the dining room table has bad support and needs to be fixed. He observes the different problems with it and invites the divorced wife to take a look at them. She takes this as an advantage to be even more flirtatious and revealing. Ultimately, the two end up making a partnership to fix the table and end up having the hots for each other. The significance of this scene was explicitly recognized, but also very perplexing. Christine Nolan is a senior advertising major with minors in theatre and English. She is also the actress that played the divorced flirtatious woman. “That was just me seducing the handyman. We actually wonder if there’s actually anything wrong with the table and maybe if I’m making it up because I’m lonely, because my ex husband is obviously gone. It could absolutely mean that the support is bad and be this crumbling of the dining room and how it’s breaking down and it’s shaking. It’s about this whole foundation of this formal dining and these traditional values that have been passed down generation to generation but are now going out of
style,” said Nolan. A few scenes later, there’s a scene with Sarah and her friend. Sarah is the friend that sits with her family every night to eat at the dining room table, but expresses that there are bad memories that follow with sitting there. The friend is intrigued by this tradition because her family eats at the counter, not all together in a very proper and inclusive way. The significance of this scene is also explained by Nolan who plays the friend. “The scene with the two girls is about how one girl and her family ate at the dining room table every night and my family and I we eat at the kitchen table or we eat at the kitchen counter, so it kind of shows the different classes and how this family dining room has developed.” The next couple of scenes leads to a scenario of the WASP, the White Anglo Saxon Protestant. This scene is about Tony and his aunt Harriet. Tony is doing a project for anthropology on eating habits and he wants to take pictures of his aunt eating the way WASP people apparently eat. Aunt Harriet was fine with it at first explaining how they would prepare to eat and smiling for pictures, but then Tony explained that it was a project about the WASPs of east northern U.S. This angers Aunt Harriet and she demands that Tony delete the pictures and starts putting away all the dishes. “It’s during the time where the WASP are this idea of a very high class society and need finger bowls to cleanse themselves. They’re so high class that they need everything to be so perfect and they have all the nice silverware out for every meal they possibly can. They basically think they’re the best of the best sort of thing. It’s a negative term where you’re like really, really, really rich while the rest of us are poor and aunt Harriet was upset because to her it’s like basically you’re making fun of
what I [the character] grew up on,” senior Carlos Perez said. The very last scene is about a family being all together for the last dinner together. The family is smiling, greeting each other, and sitting down to feast. Nolan explains that this ultimate scene covers the changing values in traditions. “My monologue in the end is kind of talking about the silver and the importance of silver, and the importance of this China, the importance of finger bowls, and how I miss that, and I’m losing my maid and like how am I supposed to throw parties? This is suppose to be the last formal party in our dining room because they’re outdated now. People eat in the kitchen and when people come over you’re swarmed around the counter.” Overall this was a play about the time lapse of the dining room and the change in traditional values. In today’s generation people no longer eat at a dining room table, the significance of this tradition has faded away, people eat wherever they want; in bed, at a counter, in front of the TV, or on the couch. The dining room table is outdated now. The play depicts this fading traditional values in the different families and scenarios that are shown, the only thing that’s centered is the dining room table and the only character that remains present in all of the scenes is the maid, who’s the maid at the beginning and a retiring maid at the end. This play was fascinating, a true journey to the past, and a wake up call on fading traditions. The actors did a wonderful job playing eight different characters and taking the audience on an expedition through reality.
sports
10
Nov. 17, 2015
Final Third On The MAAC Pitch: Dr Jon Reyes Editor
This is a column that takes a look at all of the MAAC men’s soccer teams throughout the course of the season and off-season. It was a year when we could safely assume who the MAAC regular season title champions were going to be -- Monmouth University -- by the end of September, about a quarter of the way through. But to Iona College head soccer coach Fernando Barboto, the conference was still unsurprisingly competitive. At the start of non-conference play, he said “last year the conference had a really good year” and predicted “the league is going to be even stronger this year.” He was half-right. Six teams had winning records, both last season and the one we just had. So the MAAC had another “really good year” but it wasn’t “even stronger.” The last time the conference had less than five teams with winning records was in ’12 when there were four. It has had consistent competitiveness since then. Eric Klenofsky, Monmouth goalie and MAAC goalkeeper of the year, told The Quadrangle the following at the quarter mark of the season: “Pretty much every game is a dogfight, doesn’t matter who you are– whether we’re playing Quinnipiac, who won their first game [Oct. 14], or Marist, who’s right on our tail. Once you get in conference it’s just an absolute fight, it’s a battle. Every single game,” he said. “And we’ve seen that when we went to Fairfield on [Oct. 17]. I thought we deserved three points, but that being said their goalie Matt Turner had an amazing day, and Fairfield was just not going to give into us that easily. They scrapped, battled and got the result. That’s what it’s like in every single MAAC game.”
The Road To Disney Come tournament time this season, not only those teams that earned their spot in the playoffs, based on record, qualified but also the ones that didn’t. Every team knew they’d be headed to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. -- Disney -where they all had a chance at winning the MAAC championship. This format isn’t new to the conference, it repeats itself once every four years. The best case scenario in building toward winning it all in these off years is to seed in the top five in order to earn a firstround bye because the bottom six teams are faced with the extremely arduous task of needing to win-out in four games in five days. Albeit, the best teams save themselves of just one game (i.e. three games in four days). Coaches across the conference have said all season that the keys in seasons such as this one are seeding, substitution management and roster depth. Another one that may be overlooked is the Florida heat once they were playing in Disney. Dave Nigro, Monmouth forward, said it was a matter of “really adjusting to it.” “It was just a lot of hydration,” he said. “We weren’t really used to it. … We were just really gasped. But we had a couple of
Dave Nigro dribbling on the pitch to create a scoring chance for himself and teammates. Dave Nigro/Courtesy subs who came in and did well for us.” “It’s a little more just picking your moments when to go forward. You just have got to save some energy. It’s definitely a different experience playing in the weather like that. [But] playing on the those fields– that must have been the nicest grass field I’ve ever played on in my life.” “It was awesome, but the heat, it definitely took a toll on us and playing three games in four days was not easy. You didn’t have much time to recover so you just had to give everything you got, but I mean it was awesome there.” Eric Da Costa, Quinnipiac’s head coach, said having all teams qualify for the tournament leaves competition “wide-open” and “unpredictable.” It also allows coaches and players to feel relaxed, without pressure and gives way to harder play, which has affected expected results, he said. For Quinnipiac, that couldn’t be more true. It was selected in this season’s preseason poll to finish No. 2, behind Monmouth. And rightfully so, it clinched the regular season title in each of the last two seasons prior to this one, winning the program’s first championship in ’13 over Monmouth — its first season in the MAAC — 4-3 on penalty kicks. Quinnipiac had a chance at a repeat over Monmouth once again in ’14 but fell to Fairfield, 3-1, ironically, on PKs. Monmouth would go on to win over Fairfield, 2-1, in double overtime off of a Nigro golden goal. This season Quinnipiac finished No. 10 -- second to last. “The squad is away from any distractions, obviously they’ve got school work to do,” Carl Rees, Fairfield head coach, said of having the opportunity to play at Disney, “but the facility is very good. It’s an experience that the players are going to remember. The rationale for the MAAC was they want to give every player championship experience, so it does serve that purpose.
I know some coaches think it’s crazy– it is physically very demanding and also mentally it’s very taxing on these guys. But I embrace it, I enjoy going down there.” “It’s a good opportunity,” Matt Turner, Fairfield goalie, added, “because everyone deserves to experience postseason play at some point. Sometimes teams get a little unlucky with injuries and stuff like that, so some kids would never get the chance to play for anything. To keep it an open playing field and things interesting, especially in the place where dreams are made of, so to speak. It’s nice to let everyone in and to see what happens, especially in a really competitive conference like the MAAC where anything is possible.”
Earning The Much Sought After Title Of “Winner” Monmouth has had nothing but success since joining the MAAC from the NEC in ’13. It has appeared in the conference championship in all three years, including its, 3-2, loss to No. 2 Rider this season. Nigro, who has been a part of Monmouth’s run since his freshman year, said it’s not easy to always be on top and expected to win every time a chance is given. “There’s definitely a feeling of calmness when you’ve been there before,” he said, “because you know what it takes to win, you don’t have all the nerves that you did your first time. It’s just so much more.” “I wouldn’t even say relaxing, it’s just like a lot of weight off your shoulders knowing that you know what it takes to win one. That you can just be relaxed on the ball, instead of going for it every time.” “There’s a lot of pressure in [success]. Winning it one year and then having the pressure of everyone thinking that you’re
going to do it again. But none of the games that you ever play are going to be easy ones, no ones just ever going to lay there and give you the championship, so you always have to be on top of your game, battling, giving it your all every single game. It’s definitely tough and not easy to do, and the fact that we’ve been to the final three times is really a testament in itself.” It takes a certain philosophy to win championships, let alone multiple ones in a row. What makes sports so entertaining as it is, is that not every winning team has the same strategy about how to actually do it. Robert McCourt, Monmouth head coach, said how he has gone about it is pressing teams, winning the ball higher up the pitch, keeping the ball, scoring more goals and giving up less on the other side, playing attractive soccer and going back on the attack. Turner agrees with McCourt on the idea of keeping the ball out of the back net. He also said knowing what it takes to win and having players willing to sacrifice by diving on the pitch, keeping the ball off the line, etc. can help lead to a trophy as well. See? If asked, every individual person likely would agree to disagree on the topic of how to win, or anything for that matter. When the season is all said and done, and someone is crowned, Rider in this case. Is winning most important or how these players turn out as people? Ask almost any coach and they’d probably say the latter. “In the beginning of the season we always talk about a couple of things,” Barboto said. “And one of the things we always stress, and we kind of label it as our nuts and bolts, we’re like an engine. We’re an engine that starts in preseason and everyday it goes to preseason and everyday it goes to the season we talk about tightening the nuts and bolts, and that signifies our team camaraderie, bond.” “We’re a pretty tight group, we compli-
sports
11
reams Of Winning While At Disney
Nigro about to send one toward net. Dave Nigro/Courtesy ment each other, we talk about being unselfish and talk about scoring a lot of goals and not caring about who scores but that we score. When you stress those kind of things as a group you hope they come to fruition.” “We don’t set statistical goals,” Rees said. “The goal every year for us is development, obviously individual development as players in technique and tactical under-
standing. But also their ability to cope with different pressure situations and– this is my 19th season.” “Obviously it’s great to win championships but really let’s say if I leave– sooner or later I’m going to get tired of it or I’m going to retire or something like that,” Reese said. “But hopefully my legacy is that we nurture or we foster a sense of community,
leadership. Basically to facilitate an environment, enhance these young men to develop as people.” “So the game itself is a vehicle that tends to reveal personality, so that’s the focus. We’re all fortunate enough to be involved in this business.” “It’s that. It’s winning games, winning the MAAC, defend it through the national tournament, all that kind of stuff. But really
my job is to develop these guys as players and as young men. That’s what we focus on. Nine times out of ten if the collective personality of the team is good, strong, depth, integrity, work ethic, all that kind of stuff. Then the people side of things tend to go hand-in-hand with that.”
Matt Turner, Fairfield goalie, rolling it to one of his teammates, so they can set-up an offensive attack. Matt Turner/Courtesy
Sports
12
Marisa Robbins Jermaine Looking to Break Lawrence Her Own Records Suspended for
Half The Season
GoJaspers/Courtesy
Anthony Capote Assistant Editor
Marisa Robbins made her first pole vault jump halfway through her junior year of high school. “Most girls start at the beginning of freshman year,” she said. “I started late, in about December or January of my junior year, actually our opening meet is going to be the fourth anniversary [of when I started].” It wasn’t until sometime during her senior year that Robbins even began thinking about going to college for pole vault. “I had a friend that also did pole vault in high school,” she said, “and they pushed me to be better and kind of drove me and I found that I actually like pole vault. So I started taking it more seriously as I went on.” Robbins, who defines her self as “new” to pole vault as a result of her late arrival to the sport, still managed to draw recruiter attention and joined the Manhattan College track and field team as a freshman in 2013. Now, as a junior, Robbins holds both the Manhattan and MAAC records for pole vault. “I won both tournaments -- indoor and outdoor -- in the MAAC for 2015,” she said, “[At] the indoor MAAC, I don’t know I just took it at my own pace and ended up jumping like 12-feet 6-inches by the end of it. I took the record back from Monmouth who taken it from us last year.” Robbins said she isn’t stopping there. Her goal this season is to beat the record and precedent she set last year, considering in the outdoor meet, she broke the college’s record coming off of a minor quad strain. “In the outdoor, I came off an injury,”
she said, “and randomly made my personal record and swept the school record. I’m looking to not only place in the ECACs but hopefully win them.” Robbins referred to the ECAC as a regional meet of the top 48 athletes in each event that occurs in May. She ranked 52nd in the region last year, only narrowly missing the meet. Robbins said that most of her training goes into increasing her speed, which she works on with assistant coach Joe Ryan. “Since I’m so short, a lot of my jump has to come from my run,” she said, “because I don’t have the advantage of a takeoff with my height, since I only stand at 5-foot 3-inches.” Ryan said he has seen major improvements from Robbins every year. “I coach the sprinters and hurdlers but athletes do cross-over,” he said. “My responsibility is to help her develop her speed capacity.” Ryan said that the faster Robbins runs into the jump, the higher she will be able to go when she takes flight. “Last year we really did a lot of work with speed training and she did extraordinarily well,” he said, “She wasn’t that far off of jumping almost 13-feet.” Ryan said he is continually impressed with Robbins’ progression as both an athlete and a person since coming to Manhattan. “I think she is reaching the benchmarks of a really, really good Division I pole vaulter needs to reach,” he said. “She’s one of the best in the east at the moment and the best in the conference. She’s highly motivated, and has a great attitude towards practice.”
Jermaine Lawrence, center, will be suspended for half the season after a failed drug test. Kevin Fuhrmann/The Quadrangle
Daniel Ynfante Assistant Editor
According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, Jermaine Lawrence, Manhattan College junior forward, will be suspended for half of the season. Two months after he was told he would only be suspended for the Nov. 9 exhibition game against Adelphi for a failed drug test. Lawrence received a letter from Manhattan on Sept. 4, which read that he would be suspended for the exhibition and that he would have to participate in a drug counseling and treatment program at St. John’s Riverside Hospital. And if he failed a second drug test, he would lose 50 percent of his athletic scholarship and would have to sit out half the season as well. It is unclear whether Lawrence failed the second drug test, as his mother, in an interview with ESPN, claims that he has
passed every drug test since September and has willingly attended all the drug counseling classes. “He was told that he was going to miss one game,” Marcia Lawrence told ESPN, “and then it completely changed. They said it was his second offense two months later.” The elder Lawrence believes that her son perhaps is being penalized for refusing to take a drug test last year, one which she told ESPN her son believed was intentional and not random. A member of the athletic department released a statement on the situation. “We support the health and well-being of all of our students and withhold comment on any internal issues involving our students,” the statement said. The Quadrangle will continue to report on the situation.