Issue 13, Fall 2016 - The Quadrangle

THE Volume 94, Issue 13

Q

UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924

December 6th, 2016

www.mcquad.org

MC Hosts Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols

See Full Story on Page 7 MC Singers, Orchestra, Jazz Band, and the ManhaTONES hosted the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Kaiyun Chen/The Quadrangle

Manhattan College Searches for a New Chaplain Megan Dreher & August Kissel Staff Writers

After the loss of Father George Hill, Manhattan College’s chaplain of nine years, the school has begun the search process to find another chaplain that will cater to the needs of Manhattan’s Lasallian community.

“Depending on the person that we get, they will never be like Father George, but we are hoping that we get someone who has similar disposition with students,” said Lois Harr the Director of Campus Ministry.

Harr is leading the search along with four other members to find Manhattan College their new chaplain.

This committee will meet together to partake in the interviewing and the selection process’. It is a handpicked group composed of people who represent Manhattan College as well as those who will be working closely with the new priest chaplain in the future. Members include Conor Reidy, the school’s campus minister, Dr. Kevin Ahern, a professor of religious and peace studies, Andrew Bower, the director

of music ministry, and Kaitlyn Von Runnen a student representative.

Another faculty member of Manhattan College working closely with this group and the candidates is Vicki Cowan the Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action Officer/Title IX Coordinator.

“I’m responsible for seeing over the process from beginning to end. So my responsibility is to make sure that the posi-

attracts Catholic priests, Catholic New York, and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. The team has already received resumes and applications from interested candidates.

The job description posted gives an overview of the basic requirements that would need to be met by the future priest chaplain. Some of the chaplains duties and responsibilities include celebrating week-

“Depending on the person that we get, they will never be like Father George, but we are hoping that we get someone who has similar disposition with students,” said Lois Harr the Director of Campus Ministry. tion is posted, I help the departments get the pool of candidates that they’re looking for, I advertise for them, I make sure that the job is approved, and when I advertise I try to do so in places that will get them the most qualified candidates,” said Cowan.

Cowan chose to advertise with America magazine, which is a publication that

ly Sunday and weekday liturgies during the academic year, collaborating with the Director of Music Ministry, offering regular opportunities to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, and being an active member of the Campus Ministry and Social Action team.

Once the application pool is narrowed

down to a select few candidates, the interview process can begin.

“You get to where you want to bring two or three candidates to campus and have them meet people, meet students, meet faculty, maybe even the president would like to talk to them. The chaplains job is different than a department head, the chaplain position is considered extra special at a Catholic college,” said Harr The students at Manhattan College will have to adjust to a new chaplain but they are looking at the situation optimistically. “I feel that a new chaplain will help to create a more inclusive community and encourage greater integration of the Lasallian values within the daily lives of students and faculty. It’s nice to see that spiritual aspect of the school strengthening,” said Freshman Erin McWilliams.

As for the students who knew Father George Hill very well the transition process may be a little more difficult. “I think someone who is a junior or senior who knew father well they might feel a little bad. I think the students will get to love the new guy,” added Harr.

According to the committee, for certain we will have a new chaplain in the next academic year.

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The

Opinion & Editorial

Quadrangle www.mcquad.org

Vol. 94 Issue 13 Dec. 6, 2016

Letters from

The Editor

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 HernĂĄndez Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Daniel Ynfante Sports Editor RikkiLynn Shields Asst. Sports Editor Kristie Killen Social Media Editor Taylor Brethauer Asst. Social Media Editor Vanessa Sanchez Photography Editor Leony Anne McKeown Asst. Photography Editor Kelly Burns Abbi Kirollos Production Editors Daniel Molina Stephen Zubrycky Web Editors 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.

Dec. 6, 2016

I cannot believe that another semester is already coming to a close. As always, The Quadrangle would like to thank all of its readers for engaging with us and supporting us on a week-toweek basis. It is a privilege to serve the college community as a student-run news organization whose focus is to provide truthful and accurate content.

With the conclusion of the semester, my time as editor-in-chief is also coming to an end. It has been an honor and an absolute pleasure serving as the editor-in-chief of The Quadrangle.

I need to first and foremost thank my wonderful staff for being such a driving force in the success of the newspaper, and for making my job so incredibly easy and enjoyable. I am in awe of each and every one of you, not only for the hard work that you dedicate to The Quadrangle but also because many of you also excel in the classroom and in other activities on campus. I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with all of you over the past year. You inspire me to be the best possible editor, journalist, and person that I can be and for that I am forever grateful.

I am also proud of all of The Quadrangle’s achievements these past two semesters. We have covered the presidential election in-depth, sending reporters to a primary debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and conducting a campus-wide political survey. We have also released two special editions, one that examined the issue of gender and one that discussed the topic of money on our campus. We have covered the naming of our first-ever female athletic director as well as extensive reporting about the future of south campus.

The Quadrangle will continue to provide the same timely, honest and truthful reporting under the new leadership of our next editor-in-chief Stephen Zubrycky. I am confident that he will do a terrific job.

Again, it has been an honor to serve as editor-in-chief this past year. Thank you to all of the students, faculty, and administration who have contributed to The Quadrangle!

All the best,

Ally Hutzler

news

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Women Helping Women: Just Peace Club Collects Hundreds of Pads and Tampons for Bronx Shelters Tara Marin Asst. Editor

For women living in poverty, menstruation can be more than just a monthly inconvenience. It’s a cause for both embarrassment and hygiene issues since many can’t afford the appropriate products. Manhattan College’s Just Peace Club, a social action group dedicated to fighting injustice, is working to change that.

The Period Project, spearheaded by senior English majors Katelyn Conroy and Sarah Kissane, began on Nov. 18th and ran until Dec. 6th.

“The Period Project really started when Katelyn and I decided that we wanted to do an event that would bring our club together through service and also would be giving back to the community of the Bronx. We heard about similar events that collected pads and tampons for homeless women through the peace organization our club is affiliated with, Peace Action New York State. We then discovered that feminine hygiene products are usually at the top of many shelters’ lists of needs because they are such a difficult item for homeless women to afford,” Kissane said.

With around 2,000 female students at MC, Kissane and Conroy presumed that most of them have experienced the stress of not having a pad or tampon when they needed it most.

“The Period Project really aimed to put in perspective the unexpected hardships for women who are homeless, while also hopefully removing the stigma attached to talking about the topic of women’s periods,” Kissane said.

Many women--and men even more so-may be prone to overlook the financial

burden this biological function inflicts on half the population. While numbers vary to local prices, having a period is a substantial cost for women to pay over the span of a lifetime.

In a recent study conducted by The Huffington Post, it was estimated that the amount of money women spend on pads, tampons, pain relief medicine, and new underwear over the span of their lives is around $7,000. This doesn’t include the cost of gynecologist visits to keep their reproductive health in check, or the costs of hormonal birth control--then the cost rises to around $18,000.

The shelter that Just Peace worked with for the project is called Siena House, located on W. 168th Street.

“Siena House is a women’s shelter in the Bronx that works with the NYC Department of Homeless Services to give temporary housing to many homeless single mothers and children. Its mission is to assist these women in an effort to move away from homelessness and poverty to find more independence and self-worth,” Kissane said.

The turnout for The Period Project has been so outstanding that Just Peace was actually able to expand their donations to another shelter: Concourse House, located further East on Grand Concourse, which is also an organization that offers transitional housing for women and children.

“Each of these shelters’ emphasis on instilling these disenfranchised women with not only housing, but also a sense of human dignity and self-worth really aligned with our efforts at Just Peace to give women access to such a simple, basic need like tampons or pads. Both shelters are truly grateful for all of the donations and that the MC community has addressed this widely

ignored need in the homeless shelters of NYC,” Kissane said.

Katelyn Conroy, who oversees the Peace Club along with Kissane, was thrilled with the turnout. As flyers and donation boxes appeared around campus, word about the cause spread and MC’s women came out in droves to support it.

“There is a huge bin in my room filled with pads and tampons, singles and in boxes. I also have a Chipotle bag just full of tampons. All the resident assistants who are participating have had to empty their boxes or get new ones because they’ve gotten full,” Conroy said.

The boxes were located in Cornerstone, The Social Action Suite, and all of the dorm buildings. Despite finals week fast approaching, Conroy and Just Peace still found time to go door to door each week for donations, as well as setting up a donation table in the commons.

“I think it has been so successful for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it is so accessible. Most girls have pads or tampons on them at all times and they definitely have them in their rooms. We have been using so many platforms to get donations for this reason,” Conroy said.

Jessica Risolo, an RA on the first floor of Overlook Manor, volunteered to have a donation box in her room for the project.

“I think we tend to disregard some of the necessities that people experiencing homelessness must often go without. Pads and tampons are not cheap, so it’s very possible that if someone has very little money, they might need to choose between having these products and having enough to eat that week. Nobody, regardless of socioeconomic status, should have to go without basic hygiene products and I think it’s so important that MC is helping the

city’s most vulnerable, which is homeless women,” Risolo said.

Conroy holds the same outlook and cognizance as Risolo, but also notices that The Period Project has escalated a general sense of magnanimity and empathy on campus where it may have been lacking.

“Having pads, tampons, liners, etc. is something we take for granted. We have heard so many girls tell us that this is a really great idea or that they did not even think how much of a problem homeless women have with their periods until now,” Conroy said.

Additionally, Conroy notes that homeless women are more susceptible to suffer from Toxic Shock Syndrome, a bacterial infection with harsh side effects that results from the prolonged use of one tampon.

“Providing access to pads and tampons is the only way to stop this from happening. We never want homeless women to risk their health because they only have one pad or tampon for a five day cycle,” Conroy said.

Nothing like The Period Project has ever been carried out at MC before, but in introducing it, Just Peace cultivated the kind of awareness and dialogue that bolsters women’s empowerment on college campuses and also in communities like the Bronx, where poverty and inequality are tireless issues.

Conroy reflects on the project with heart: “As a club we really wanted to give back to the community. We do a lot of awareness raising, but we wanted to do something that is a direct link between us and people in need. We are, unintentionally, a club of all women so it is especially close to us. It’s really important because having pads and tampons is such an essential thing.”

Despite the tension at the College being so high even after an entire week of the election occurring, Enten was able to help create an environment where people can discuss their concerns no matter who they supported. Nicole Mathias, a senior who contributed to the planning and running of this event, saw this as an opportunity for the community to talk about politics in a civil manner.

“I was excited about this event because it wasn’t about people arguing about political issues, it was about someone who knows the polls and the facts coming to explain to us what happened” Mathias said.

This event mainly served as opportunity to hear someone with “opinions that people can question and learn from” and to also “start something new” as Mathias puts it. She continues by stating “whichever way this election went, there were going to be a lot of people upset. I think this could be the start of a conversation that continues in the campus and talk about politics based on facts.”

Enten provided the audience with facts and information on past elections in comparison to the election of 2016, as well as answered question that both students and faculty had on their mind. Georgette Thomas, a senior who attended the event said, “He [Enten] is definitely really intelligent and just pointed out how important the statistics really are.”

Enten was also able to give factors that contributed to the results of this year’s election, however he explains that in politics it is difficult to find one answer as to what actually happened. He states that people must “recognize that conventional wisdom itself is normally not exactly right, there is usually not one right answer as to why people win and lose. Sometimes it really is just about the want for a change and just the want to move on from what we had.”

Even weeks after the results of the election people across the College and even the nation are still surprised because mathematically Donald Trump had a very small chance of winning when compared

to Hillary Clinton’s chance of winning. Enten was even shocked by the way Trump climbed the polls.

On Tuesday night when Enten had the realization that Trump could be the president-elect he explains that “it was a real wake up moment for me… I think people were shocked, because it is one thing to recognize something as a mathematical possibility and another thing to internalize it as an actual possibility.”

Being that we now hear and see the words President-Elect being associated with Donald Trump practically everywhere in the media, the opportunity to question and learn from people such as Harry Enten is valuable. Events such as this one help provide an environment where people at the College can discuss politics with others without the fear of getting into a dispute about different values political parties hold.

Election Results Sparks Discussion on Campus Alyssa Velazquez Staff Writer

After 18 longs months of campaigning, election season is finally over. But some students and faculty of Manhattan College still have questions, especially considered how President-elect Donald Trump won in the first place.

Many people are still surprised and perhaps confused by the results of the 2016 election. Many citizens thought the president-elect would be Hillary Clinton, even polls were ranking her chances of being elected, higher than Donald Trump. Luckily to answer the questions and concerns of students and faculty, Harry Enten was invited to the College on Nov. 16.

Enten, otherwise known as Whiz Kid, works at FiveThirtyEight.com, a polling website that takes the usually hard to follow statistics from events such as the election and utilizes them to inform the public on what could happen.

Stephen Zubrycky contributed on reporting

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News

Dec. 6, 2016

Minority Students Reflect on Trump’s Election Win Victoria Hernandez Asst. Editor

On Nov. 9, America woke up with a new president-elect. After Trump’s win, a significant amount of the country was heavily affected. More so, minorities across the nation feared for their future.

In the midst of all the uncertainty, Hayden Greene, director of multicultural affairs, had the doors of the Multicultural Center open for all.

“Everything we’ve seen around the country and in the city doesn’t permeate in our campus. We believe in an inclusive community and society and we want our students to recognize that. We will protect them, all identities have a place to grow and be strong here” Greene said.

Manhattan College is often advertised as an “inclusive community” and it has certainly proven itself after this presidential election outcome. Not only faculty, but also students have been involved in making Manhattan College a safe campus.

Olivia Gartland, a sophomore Marketing and CIS major, has been working close-

ly with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to aid the needs of those affected the most.

“We’re running a ‘call to compassion’ campaign to spread love not hate around this campus and to help everyone, including minorities, to feel in unison with their classmates and other students on campus” Gartland said.

The ‘call to compassion’ campaign resembles the ‘subway therapy’ project downtown that consists of people writing their thoughts and feelings on a sticky note and posting it on a wall, in this case, the students are posting their notes on the walls of the Social Action Suite on the Kelly Commons building.

“Our mission is to use our Lasallian values and make the best we can out of the election outcome, this is a time for us to step up our game and help those on campus who feel oppressed” Gartland said.

Some of the minorities targeted by Trump have been Blacks, Latinos and the LGBTQ community. A series of interviews revealed how those minority students felt on campus.

“As a gay man, I was terrified. I thought of conversion therapy, the discrimination, and the harassment… In that moment, I feared for myself, I feared for the wellbe-

ing of my partner” said a sophomore student who preferred to remain unnamed.

The student, clearly shaken, went home to vote and returned to school early morning.

“I felt sick. America has an incredible amount of work to do but Americans need to realize that fighting for what is right is equally as important as forgiving one another” he said.

As the anonymous source shared, many minority students were feeling down. Not only they feared for their own life but also their friends’ back home.

Fery Lee Corney, a sophomore electrical engineering major, still feels unsure on how his life as a Black man will be affected

by Trump’s win.

“Right now, it’s not affecting me that much, I see it has affected some of my friends, both here and back home. It wasn’t the outcome everyone was looking forward to but it happened” Corney said.

Corney was one of those students who decided to remain in between the spectrum.

He did vote but didn’t share his political views.

“I don’t know how it’s gonna affect minorities, to be honest. This election broke everyone apart” Corney said.

Natalia Alvarez, a sophomore International Studies major, is concerned about the economy. As a Latina, she understands the effect Trump can have on both her financial status and culture.

“I am worried that Trump will only look out for the well being of the top 1% of the country, I was definitely hoping to have our first woman president, not a man who has said offensive things about women and minorities” Alvarez said.

For Alvarez, there’s still hope in the future as the younger generation voted Democrat.

As an inclusive community Manhattan College is accepting and welcoming all points of views, only if they are being presented in a respectful manner.

“It doesn’t mean that people can’t have opinions or disagree with each other. One of the messages of the Multicultural Center is the ability to have discourse without being discordant” Greene said.

There’s many resources on campus for students who have been affected. The Counseling Center, the Multicultural Center, Social Action and/or volunteering opportunities.

News

A Semester in Review

5

Kieran Rock Editor

As the Fall semester comes to a close, The Quadrangle continues its tradition of reflecting on the reporting and important events of the past months. In the Fall of 2016, the Manhattan College community saw a new college website, the reports of an explosion close to its campus, and a presidential election, among other things. The Quadrangle also continued its successful tradition of special issues with The Money Issue, reporting on the various ways economic concerns manifest on our college campus; from textbook prices to salaries. Here are some of the stories that The Quadrangle has covered this semester.

NEW COLLEGE WEBSITE

In August, Stephen Zubrycky, reported on the new website that was completed over the summer months. The new website was visually very different from the old manhattan.edu, but the bigger change came in the split between the website as a tool for marketing and a tool for current students. inside.manhattan. edu became the new website for students looking for Self Service, Moodle, and their email, while manhattan.edu became a site full of campus photographs and student testimonial videos.

The change over to a new website was accompanied by a new mobile app for students, which was designed by current MC students. The app has since become an integral part of the MC student’s life, as the Jasper Card function allows students to scan into Locke’s Loft, pay with dining dollars at Starbucks, and now even scan into buildings like Horan Hall.

EXPLOSION ON 234th STREET

In September, some students were literally awoken by the sound and shaking of an explosion only four blocks from Manhattan College’s Overlook Manor dorm. The explosion occurred on 234th street very early in the morning. As RikkiLynn Shields reported, neighbors began smelling and reporting gas around 6 a.m. and by 7:30 a.m. the house exploded. The house was allegedly being used to grow drugs, and police arrested suspects in relation to the case. The explosion killed Battalion Chief Michael J. Fahy who was on the scene directing efforts to respond to the explosion.

Public Safety sent an email related to the explosion on Sept. 27. The email read, “At this time, we cannot confirm that anyone affiliated with the College resided at 300 West 234th Street. Manhattan College has no reason to believe that any injuries were sustained to students due to the incident.” The next day, on Sept. 28, Public Safety followed up with an email that read, “To update you on Tuesday morning’s home explosion on West 234th Street and Tibbett Avenue, the NYPD has arrested the man who was living inside the residence. After an investigation conducted by the Office of Public Safety, we confirmed that no Manhattan College students resided at the residence, nor were any students involved in the incident.”

Manhattan College unveiled its new website in the opening days of the semester.

Manhattan College/Courtesy

An explosion on West 234th Street shocked local residents and students.

Joseph Liggio/The Quadrangle

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The Quadrangle covered the presidential election of 2016 throughout the Fall Semster. Stephen Zubrycky’s column “Manhattan Caucus” offered students a voice throughout the closing months of the election. Zubrycky reported students responses to both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. After the election of Republican nominee Donald Trump, The Quadrangle continued to report the voices of a diverse set of political opinions. In a Voice on the Quad feature following the election one student, Brian Opfer said, “I’m happy with the results. I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was really close. I think if it went the other way it would be a very corrupt next four years.” Another student, Stephen Serrule said, “It’s spitting hatred. We should protest against the GOP and the party system. No one cares about the importance of voting. It’s frustrating. Trump is our president, but we need to protect our people. Hopefully we can go forward with love.”

After the election students received an email from the college stating its plans to hold various post-election forums and events. As Anthony Capote reported, in his email, O’Donnell provided a schedule of events that would provide students and faculty a forum to discuss their feeling on the presidential election. Since the announcement students have received an email from Michael Carey, Dean of Students, containing a message from faculty. The email read in part: “As members of this community of learning, with its long commitment to social justice, we also emphatically wish to express our opposition to any and all acts of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and any other discriminatory position that threatens the inclusivity and values that are central to our college’s mission.” Students also received an email from the Office of the President announcing that O’Donnell had singed a statement by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. In the email O’Donnell wrote: “I have joined with dozens of leaders of Catholic institutions in signing the statement, which reaffirms our collective commitment to educating and supporting recent immigrants and the children of immigrants, including those who meet the criteria for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, issued in 2012.”

Students gathered in the Kelly Commons to watch the Presidential debates.

Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrange

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Arts & Entertainment

Dec. 6, 2016

New Pep Band Instructor: Jake Robinson Alyssa Velazquez Staff Writer

Whether you’re at a basketball game or in Thomas Hall, the rhythmic sounds and melodies of Manhattan College’s Pep Band can be heard with their instructor Jake Robinson, right by their side.

With every basketball game, there is a pep band, and with every pep band there is an instructor like Robinson. Robinson is a freelance musician, a part-time teacher at a local school in White Plains and now holds a part-time position here at the college as pep band’s instructor.

Despite Robinson already being a teacher, working at MC is actually his first experience teaching at the college level.

“Most of the students that I work with are high school, middle school and elementary school kids. so working with college students, I was really happy to get this opportunity,” Robinson said. “Teaching at the college level is something I wanted to get into more, so this is the first time I’ve actually been in front of students of this age.”

With this, it is expected that the transition for Robinson, and even the pep band, may have been a challenge at times, especially since this is Robinson’s first semester working at MC. For Morgan Seger, a senior member of the pep band, Robinson is her fourth instructor since she has been a band member. He states that the process to settle into a position such as instructor “takes time that could otherwise be used to get stuff done.”

Knowing the amount of time it can take for a band to become comfortable with an instructor and vice versa, Robinson wants to continue as the instructor for semesters to come in order to “bring some consistency” to the band.

Robinson conducting the MC Pep Band at a home basketball game.

Alyssa Velazquez/The Quadrangle As the new instructor, Robinson aims to improve upon the music of the already well-regarded band. “My main focus with the group has really been to get the music to sound even better than it was,” he said. “The band is held pretty high regard in terms of the pep bands in the MAAC conference, but there are still some areas where we can do some things better.”

Despite being at the college for nearly one semester, Robinson’s impact on the group has already become evident for members such as Seger. “With a strong di-

rector, you are more likely to have a stronger group and he has definitely been able to improve our music, our abilities, tone; all the qualities that give you a good sound to perform,” she said. “But, he also gives us a maturity level that I think a lot of the pep bands need to have.”

According to the pep band president Christopher Urban-Klein, Robinson has “had a bigger emphasis on improving musically and he has brought a sense of professionalism to the band.” “What we’re trying to achieve is to be the best sounding

band as possible. That is what he has been emphasizing during rehearsals,” UrbanKlein said.

For the future, the MC community can expect “great songs and a lot of new stuff” from the pep band that are “going to sound awesome” thanks to the fact that “[Robinson] is so musically talented,” according to Urban-Klein.

With the collaboration of the student run band and their instructor Jake Robinson, the community definitely has plenty to look forward to in the coming semester.

Winter in New York City: Fun Things to do During the Holiday Season Victoria Hernandez Asst. Editor

With the chilly weather upon us and time winding down to semester’s end, make sure to take advantage of everything New York City has to offer during the cold winter months.

1.

Rockefeller Christmas Tree This tree certainly takes the award for “NYC’s Christmas symbol.” The 2016 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is officially lit at Rockefeller Plaza. Just make sure you’re prepared for the mass of crowds that are sure to be surrounding the tree!

2. Winter Village at Bryant Park Who doesn’t like ice skating during the holiday season? Apart from the rink, there’s also more than 100 shopping and food kiosks open for business. It’s perfect to visit with family and friends!

3.

SantaCon If you’re from the older crowd, this annual mass gathering is for you! It’s basically a pub crawl in which people dressed in Santa Claus costumes, or as other Christmas characters, parade in several cities around the world.

4.

Dyker Heights Located in Brooklyn, this community lights up the neighborhood with displays that will blow your mind. They’re recognized world-wide during Christmas time, a definite local favorite.

5.

“The Nutcracker” at Lincoln Center Whether it’s a family tradition or a onetime thing, you must watch this NYC classical ballet at least once in your life. Tickets range from $100-$700.

6. Fifth Avenue Window Shopping Window shopping is actually a thing in NYC during the winter. Tons of 5th Avenue stores decorate their stores for many tourists and locals alike to enjoy the winter

Lindsey Burns/Courtesy wonderland feeling. Don’t miss Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Saks and Tiffany!

7.

Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show This tradition has been going on in NYC fro 23 years. The miniature train follows the huge path while passing landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and Rockefeller Center. Visitors

are encouraged to make advance reservations.

8.

Coffee / Hot Chocolate crawl The best way to celebrate Winter is going around the city visiting different coffee shops. It’s a great way to catch up with friends and a fun way to explore the city.

My favorite ones are Devoción in Brooklyn and Cha Cha Matcha in Manhattan.

Arts & Entertainment

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Manhattan College Hosts Their Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols John Jackson Staff Writer

Most Manhattan College students would be hard pressed to say they haven’t seen posters, signs, and online advertising for the school’s annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. This event has been highly anticipated by the college and was finally held on Sunday, December 5 in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers. The Prelude of the show began at 4:00 p.m. and the Lessons and Carols began at 4:30.

The event was conducted by the college’s Performing Arts ensembles: the Manhattan College Singers, Orchestra, Jazz Band and the ManhaTONES. Around 100 students participated and they were led

by Andrew Bauer who is Director of Music and Coordinator of Performing Arts.

This was a big production and took many weeks of practice. Senior Rebecca Taylor, who is the president of the orchestra, explained the amount of time goes into the performance.

“We practice once a week for the whole semester,” Taylor said. “As far as music for Lessons and Carols, you probably spend half the semester working on that.”

Taylor has been part of the Lessons and Carols since her freshman year. While she is used to the whole production from her prior three years, this year includes an uptick in responsibilities for her.

“Now that I’m president this year,” Taylor said. “I have more responsibility as

far as making sure the orchestra is ready and together, but I’m pretty used to the Lessons and Carols.”

Some of the musical choices were “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “People Look East,” “Carol of the Star,” “The First Noel” and “What Sweeter Music.” They also performed “Dixit and Magnificat” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as “Believe” from “The Polar Express.”

“Silent Night” was played towards the end with the lights off and members of the audience holding lit candles.

The Lessons consisted of readings from the Bible. Verses were read from the book of Isaiah and the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Richard Satterlee, vice president of student life, gave a reflection of his life being born during Christmas time.

Father Maurice Moreau, O.F.M. Cap. and visiting chaplain from Sacred Heart Church in Yonkers, opened and closed the evening in prayer.

A change this year compared to the past were the ushers. Usually the ushers would be provided from the college’s dance team.

They were successfully able to find replacements however, with the help of Student Government and Student Government President Dorian Persaud.

“Usually in the past we’d have the dancers be our ushers,” Siobhan Conner, treasurer of the singers club said. “But we had to get new people, so Student Government, Dorian, helped us out with that.”

Considering the size of the event and the

Kaiyun Chen/ The Quadrangle amount of work put into it, it may seem like a daunting task for those apart of it.

However, they also have a lot of fun with it.

“Rehearsal is a lot of fun,” Conner said when asked about her favorite part of the event. “But I think it’s working with Andy Bauer, who is our director of

performing arts, but also he’s our conductor. He does voice lessons with us and he does vocal warm ups beforehand. And he really cares about the group and really listens to our suggestions and really helps us to be the best that we can be in the way that we want to be.”

The Book Nook Title: Popular Author: Maya Van Wagenen Genre: Memoir

Taylor Brethauer Asst. Editor

If you care to think about your high school years, they might be cringe-inducing or they might include the never-ending struggle of trying to get in with the popular crowd. For teen Maya Van Wagenen, when she finds a popularity guide written by a 1950’s beauty queen, she sees the opportunity to make something special out of an out of date how-to. What comes out of this ordeal is “Popular” by Van Wagenen herself, a strong combination of memoir, non-fiction and a coming-of-age social experiment.

Needless to say, the beauty queen’s guide was not quite meeting the standard of 21st century fashion. But Van Wagenen still follows her plan for an entire year of school. She starts in phases of weeks: week one, she does her hair in curlers, week two, she tries wearing a girdle and by week three, she has pearls and white gloves on.

Each chapter covers the different experiments and how she evolves as a person.

It keeps going throughout the school year and she writes down her observations and comments from her friends.

It takes a turn when she befriends the very beauty queen who wrote the guide, Betty Cornell. When Van Wagenen feels like giving up, she gets into contact with

Taylor Brethauer/The Quadrangle Cornell and tells her of the experiment she is running. She feels as though it is not worth the trouble she is going through. But by talk-

ing to the woman who wrote the guide when she was Van Wagenen’s age, she gains a second wind and decides to carry

on, no matter what her friends and classmates are saying.

In the end, Van Wagenen does gain popularity, but not in the way you or herself would have thought. Since she kept track of her experiment, she talks with one of her favorite teachers and decides to put her findings into a book. At the age of 15, Van Wagenen is a best-selling author with a critically acclaimed novel. The novel has also been translated into multiple languages and sold to teens around the world.

What makes this such a special book is the voice of young Van Wagenen. Not many high schoolers would write a novel like she has. It’s a funny novel with intelligent observations. Especially with the risk she took, when high schoolers can be ruthless and shun anyone who is different, she stuck with her experiment, which resulted in amazing rewards and outcomes.

I chose this novel because it stood out to me while I was shopping for books (not that I don’t already have enough). Nonfiction novels don’t usually entertain me but this book was enjoyable to read once I started, I couldn’t put it down. It’s a simple one to read, especially for the upcoming winter break. Now that finals week is right around the corner, hopefully it will go by fast. Reading for fun is practically right around the corner! Hopefully you’ll get this book, among many others, for Christmas.

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Features

Senior Farewells

Dec. 6, 2016

Kyleigh Panetta

I started writing for The Quadrangle three and a half years ago. My first article was about the opening of the Burrito Shop restaurant. Now as I write my farewell to this paper, I have less than two weeks left of my college career.

I’m proud to say that The Quadrangle was the beginning of my career as a journalist. I was able to figure out which stories were my favorite to cover and I found my writing style. I have also met some of the most driven people through this newspaper and everyone has taught me so much.

I have learned to expect the unexpected. I have learned to ask the questions that might not be obvious. I have learned to always pay attention to detail even when I’m minutes away from a deadline. I have learned that there is always a story waiting to be told.

Our goal is much larger than just printing a newspaper every week.

Our goal is to tackle issues, hold people accountable, share stories and hopefully inspire people too.

Aside from The Quad, Manhattan College has given me amazing opportunities that have left me with incredible memories. I was able to study abroad in Madrid for five months to improve my Spanish. I interned at four news networks which was only possible because I was in the greatest city on the planet. I went on a L.O.V.E. trip to El Salvador where I volunteered for a week. I took classes with passionate professors who opened my eyes to new concepts and information.

I will miss Manhattan College and The Quad but I’m ready to start the next chapter of my life. Wherever my life as a news reporter takes me, I will never forget these past three and a half years. Thank you to everyone who has read my pieces, allowed me to interview them and helped me become a better journalist along the way.

Anthony Capote

When you are a high school graduate, first walking into a college class, the whole thing can seem so big and scary that it might never end. I remember the club fair my first year, I thought to myself that I would like to join the student paper. So I dragged my roommate to a meeting the same day. I remember being so scared that I didn’t go back for a whole year because I frankly didn’t think I could keep up.

Then, by the end of my freshman year I had decided to double major in sociology and communication with a concentration in journalism. Having no idea what I was getting into I sat in Thom Gencarelli’s office as he lectured me about the scores of journalism students who don’t join the Quad, and who miss out on so many clips and stories because they think a student paper is a waste of time. I decided instead to jump headlong into it, and on my very first story I tagged along with Jonathan Reyes to interview Brian Cashman. I, a sophomore with no real-world experience, was shocked and scared to be standing in front of the general manager of the winningest organization in baseball history. Then I watched how flawlessly Jon handled himself. He taught me so much in the weeks that followed about how to write news, how to be a good reporter, and essentially how to do this thing called journalism.

Still I remember him telling me specific people on the Quad to read and try to be better than. To this day I read certain writers’ articles religiously, looking for any way I can get better, be better, do better. Writing for the Quad taught me so much about myself. It forced me to push my limits and challenge authority. I learned how to sniff blood in the water and go after any source, no matter how much power I thought they had over me. I think most importantly, though, the Quad taught me how much I loved the Manhattan College Community. I have learned, every time I come across a story, or get a tip form a fellow student, how deeply I care about my school, my Jasper family.

Often, I catch myself complaining about MC and the problems it faces. After all, how could I not, I am senior and the editor of the news section. I have simply seen too much, watched the sausage be made too many times.

And yet, every time I think about it, I realize I don’t complain because I hate MC—quite the opposite, I complain because I love this place and good, bad or otherwise it has shaped me as a person and I complain, I rabble rouse, because I know that we as a school, as a community, can be better and I refused to rest until I was sure that we had become better.

Last week we elected a new editor-in-chief at the Quad, Stephen Zubrycky who has nothing but upside, and three times a candidate for the job called me out by name as having taught them something about doing this thing we call journalism.

By far that is my greatest achievement. I hope that the memories I leave people with, from sources I fought for to administrators I publicly criticized, are filled with moments where I tirelessly worked to be a voice for the voiceless and a watchdog over public affairs.

In the end, I think I really want to thank the Quad and thank Manhattan College for giving a place to groom myself as a reporter and fight the good fight.

As I close my very last Quad article, I want to sign off in the only way that seems appropriate: the words of news legend Edward Murrow, so here it goes: good night and good luck.

Kyliegh Panetta/Courtesy

Anthony Capote/Courtesy

Features

9

Students Start New Lifestyle and Female Empowerment Magazine Victoria Hernandez Asst. Editor

A lifestyle and women empowerment magazine started blooming on campus.

Olivia Paladino, a sophomore communications major, felt inspired by friends who work at Equal Time Magazine, a women’s lifestyle publication at Syracuse University.

“This is the type of journalism I personally want to do. I want to write for fashion and beauty magazines in the future and there’s no medium for that here at Manhattan College,” Paladino said, Looking to build her portfolio for showing future employers, Paladino thought about combining both her passion for women’s issues and her writing skills through empowering other girls, “[by] making sure that hey have a safe space to exist, to develop and thrive,” Paladino said.

Lotus Magazine’s goal is to redefine

the idea of beauty and the concept of what a traditional women’s magazine is and should look like.

“I can remember being a younger girl reading Seventeen Magazine. I saw all these beautiful models but I didn’t really look like any of them,” Paladino said.

The response thus far has been more than expected. On their first meeting, Dec 1st, more than forty students showed up and the gathering resulted in a 63 person email list of those interested in collaborating for the magazine.

Paladino joined forces with Melissa Gallardo, also a sophomore communications student.

“We got to talking and Melissa was really on board with it. She gave me the push to make it happen,” Paladino said.

As a team, they have divided the tasks of the editor-in-chief position between the two.

“Olivia is the creative end, she’s the writer. I’m the organizer, the one behind the emails, social media, agenda, all the

nitty-gritty work,” Gallardo said.

When asked why “Lotus” for a name, Paladino explained that a Lotus flower has to go through mud in order to flourish.

“I see a lot of girls like Lotus flowers,” Paladino said.

In the midst of representing all women, Lotus Magazine is looking for different types of models.

“We’re looking for girls all different shapes and sizes. There’s a lot of tokenism in traditional media and we want to break that stereotype, that stigma. We want to redefine that standard,” Gallardo said.

On the other hand, Paladino says it’s important that all [models] are from MC. “Every female student can see themselves in the magazine, showcased in a place where they’re being called called beautiful, powerful and strong,” Paladino said.

Even though they have had unwavering support, they’re still in the process of achieving club status.

“The hardest thing right now is getting

club status, our biggest concern is getting people involved and staying on board, besides getting the publication started,” Gallardo said.

For Paladino, “it’s about showing [the office of] Student Engagement that there’s a really large following and that there’s support behind this, staff, and people reading this,” Paladino said.

Printed once a semester and updated online through their online ebook, as articles come along, Paladino and Gallardo are looking for writers, models, editors, photographers and graphic designers and even though the magazine is focused on feminism, “boys are absolutely welcomed to join. They can become male contributors, editors, etc, as long as they share our passion for feminism,” Paladino said.

Lotus Magazine’s goal is to redefine the idea of beauty and the concept of what a traditional women’s magazine is and should be.

Lotus Magazine/ Courtesy

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Dec. 6, 2016

Top Five Sports Moments of the Semester Taylor Brethauer Asst. Editor

It doesn’t seem like the semester is already finishing up, but the time has come.

This sports season we’ve welcomed new coaches and new team members, witnessed records being broken and titles being won for the first time in many years. As we head into the spring season and the staple spring sports begin again, it’s time to look back at some of the most memorable moments our student-athletes experienced to round out 2016. In no particular order, here are the top five moments.

Hiring of Female Coaches It was announced at the end of the spring semester this year that the newest Athletic Director, Marianne Reilly, would be making history as the first woman AD at the school. She continued her historical run as the woman in charge as she hired three female coaches at the start of the semester.

These three women will be coaching women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country and women’s lacrosse.

Heather Vulin, head coach of the women’s basketball team, has brought a new kind of hype to the women’s basketball games. A renewed energy and effort has been injected into the program, which has looked to market itself better.

On Nov. 26, the team hosted Junior Jaspers Day, with a clinic and autograph signing session afterwards for kids in attendance. Then there was 90’s night on Nov. 28.

But while marketing has been a focus, the team has seen improved results on the court as well. The recorded its first home opener win since 2012, and started off 2-0 for the first time since 2002. With her mantra #playGREEN, we are excited to see how the women carry on into the spring semester.

Kerri Gallagher, head coach of men’s and women’s cross country, came into the school as an elite runner with a long list of accreditations from her time running at her alma mater, Fordham University. At the time of her hiring, team member Kelly Gorman stated, “It’s really inspiring because she can run with us. We never had a coach that can run with us. She’s in shape and she’s run very serious times so I’m excited to see what we all can do.” Gallagher’s teams finished their best in the MAAC conference since 2001.

As for Katie McConnell, the new head coach of women’s lacrosse, we will have to wait and see what the team will bring next semester. The women’s lacrosse team schedule was released Dec. 2 and its first game is against West Point on Feb. 18.

Charles Seward Wins Monmouth Invitational Title, Securing Golf Team’s Second Place Finish This junior and Florida-native secured the Jaspers a second place finish at the Monmouth Invitational on Oct. 13, after winning his first individual title. Seward was only the second golf player in team history to win an individual title.

“To be able to break through and win was really awesome. A lot of hard work led up to it. Father Hill passed away recently, so I really wanted to pull it out for him,” Seward said after his win.

While golf is on hiatus throughout the winter, the team will be back in the spring

to compete in the MAAC Tournament next semester. Last year, the team received second place behind Siena.

New Study Hours for Athletes Put Into Effect As the new location for the Center for Academic Success opened up, so did the idea of raising the minimum GPA requirements for athletes. Although there was a mere .3 raise in the average (2.5 to 2.8), this required athletes who did not have required study hall hours to squeeze it into their already jam-packed schedule. Students who found themselves having practice times and/or film review on top of academic courses now had to find time to visit their athletic advisors and sign off on study hours.

Advisors believe it has been beneficial to students and have seen a high participation from all athletes. Freshman and transfer athletes are also required to go to study hours to get used to the work load. If an athlete doesn’t meet the required study hours for the week, they get penalized.

Cross Country Metropolitan Championship It hadn’t been since 2001 that the cross country teams did as well as they did on Oct. 7 for the Metropolitan Championship.

For the men’s team, it was its first title it had won in 15 years. As for the women’s team, it was its best finish (second place) in 15 years. This win came in tandem with the hiring of Kerri Gallagher and her first year as the cross country and distance coach.

Although neither teams expected such a good show at the championship, they decided to try their best. This plan clearly succeeded as the men’s team finished with 48 points, shutting out second-place team from Rutgers by six points.

“It’s all credit to them [the team], and I’m thrilled to be a part of it,” said Gallagher at the time.

Yamashiro Breaks School Volleyball Record For the final top moment of the fall semester, there is senior volleyball player Allie Yamashiro, who broke a record for the most career digs. The Hawaii-native has been on the team since she was a freshman.

Her record was previously held by Ash-

GoJaspers/Courtesy ley Watson ’07, with 2013 digs throughout her time at Manhattan. On Sep. 2, Yamashiro broke that amount and as team libero, she continued until she completed her senior season with 494 digs. Her final career digs total was 2264.

“It’s been a privilege to play with someone who’s so humbling and talented,” said

teammate Mary Donnelly in an interview with the Quadrangle at the time. “She’s been such a leader, and someone that I’ve looked up to on and off the court. When I found out she broke the record I was ecstatic. I think that’s such a cool opportunity, and for her to have reached that goal and have that title is really something great,”

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Jaspers Talk: The O’Brien Brothers Kelly Burns & Kieran Rock Editors

For Liam and Nick O’Brien, running in college wasn’t always the plan. “We got cut from the freshman basketball team and the coach told us to try track,” Liam said. “We ran track in eighth grade, but all we did was sprinting and we really didn’t take it seriously,” Nick said.

It was soccer, not track, that they had planned on pursuing at the college level. “It was really hard to leave soccer,” Nick said.

“We had been doing it since we were four years old. So junior year we also did varsity soccer at the same time as doing cross country.”

Doing two sports at once proved an exhausting effort and so they made the decision after their final soccer season to focus on running. “Soccer was year round because we played on a club team,” Liam said. “Once we dropped it we could focus on running. We weren’t as tired. It was relaxing not to have the stress of both.”

As they began to focus on running they started to look at the possibility of running at college as well. “We had originally looked [at MC] to play soccer,” Liam said.

“When we switched to track we thought we would look here for [it]. We had heard about Manhattan from our high school, CBA.” After visiting the school Liam and Nick liked it for both the running aspect as well as the academics. Academics were very important to them in the selection pro-

cess.

“For me,” Nick said, “I basically evaluated each school on academics and if they had my major or not. There were other schools that were interested in us, but a lot of them didn’t have mechanical engineering, my major, so I didn’t even think about them.”

Nick also considered the Coast Guard Academy, “then I found out I’m not a big fan of open water,” he said. He hasn’t lost this interest though, as he is a member of MC’s Air Force ROTC. “I actually just contracted about 3 or 4 weeks ago.” Nick said that the balance of athletics, academics, and ROTC is hard, but manageable.

“Its something I’ve always wanted to do since I was in seventh grade, to serve. I’m happy to make the sacrifice because I want it to be part of my life.”

Liam also balances running with a challenging academic program. “I was originally going to do engineering. Then a month later I decided to switch to biology and do pre-med,” he said. “Its just about making yourself do the work,” he said.

“At that point running comes second, I’m here for academics. I mean, especially me, I want to be a doctor. I’m not going to be running my whole life. Grades come first” he said.

Liam and Nick run cross country, indoor, and outdoor track for the Jaspers. The cross country season was not as successful for them as they would have wished.

“I got sick in the middle of the season, that kind of threw everything out of whack. It was still good, because we got

good training in,” Liam said. “As a team we did really well,” he said.

“We were really proud of all of our teammates” Nick said.

The new season also saw some changes for the team, as Kerri Gallagher was named head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country, mid-distance and distance programs in July.

“I like her a lot. She came in and knew what she wanted to do,” Liam said. “She has a lot of experience from the professional world of running and from coaching at American” “She came in right away with a plan.

I bought into it and so did everyone else.

Right from day one it was one hundred percent going after it,” Nick said.

“For me this was the first official year of running or racing cross country in col-

lege,” Nick said. “It was definitely an increase in mileage from what I’m used to.”

What they are used to is mid-distance track events. Both Liam and Nick race the 1500 meters and the mile, as well as the 800 meters during the track seasons. This means they sometimes race each other in meets.

“It happened once last year,” Liam said. “It’s usually pretty close, and if one wins its switched the next time.”

“You don’t want to lose that race,” Nick said.

They both agreed that having a brother on the team is a good thing.

“Since we are identical twins…I know that if he can do it, I can. It’s a big motivator.” Nick said.

“I like it,” Liam said. “I’ve never really known anything different.”

“It was a total life-changing, careerchanging experience … I went to actual hearings at the Capitol on drugs and athletics and that was where my interest lied,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald previously worked at the University of Illinois at Springfield and Barry University in Miami, both of which are Division II institutions.

“My hope was always to get back to Division I and to be in New York City,” she said.

Upon her arrival at Manhattan College in 2014, Noah LeFevre was just named the director of athletics, succeeding Robert Byrnes who had been at the head of the athletic department for 26 years.

“I knew that the athletic department was going through a transition when I started, so I knew that there was a lot of change. I knew that it was going to be a challenge because based on the previous schools I’ve worked at I’ve always been the only person in compliance and I knew the challenges that departments faced when they are understaffed. So it wasn’t anything that was a shock or a surprise to me,” Fitzgerald said.

During her time at Manhattan, Fitzgerald has also been the advisor of the student athlete advisory committee (SAAC) allowing her to work directly with student athletes on campus. Last year she helped SAAC achieve the second most community service hours in an NCAA competition.

“My interest has always been in working with student athletes. Compliance is really what got me into athletics but I don’t want to sit behind my computer doing paperwork all day. I want to actually work with students,” Fitzgerald said.

Madison Arndt, a member of the women’s track and field team and the current president of Manhattan’s SAAC, stated how much Fitzgerald has influenced stu-

dent athletes on campus.

“I think, from a student athlete perspective, she’s made the student athletes a lot more comfortable with being who they are, being comfortable with being athletes and flaunting the fact that we’re athletes and we get to have these experiences that other people may not be able to have and be able to sell ourselves to those job opportunities, and she’s really just made us closer as a Jasper family,” Arndt said.

Arndt said that one of the things she will miss most about Fitzgerald is her open-door policy.

“You can go into her office anytime and she is there sitting smiling, bubbly and I am really going to miss that because that is the atmosphere that helps invite athletes in making them know that they are welcome anytime,” Arndt said.

Fitzgerald, along with compliance, has many responsibilities within the athletic department. She attends as many events as she can, including SAAC meetings and functions, as well as doing oversight duty for all of the basketball games.

“College athletics really never stops.

I used to make an effort to not check my email after a certain time … but even now it’s constant because students don’t turn off at five or six p.m. When they have their free time it’s ten p.m. and they’re asking me questions. It’s just that you want to support everyone as much as possible and there’s just so much going on on college campuses besides athletics,” Fitzgerald said.

The long, erratic hours of college athletics paired with the financial issues of working in higher education both play a large part in Fitzgerald’s reason for leaving the college.

“It’s not that I am looking to go to a different school, it’s not that I’m looking to make another move. I am genuinely just taking a break from life. I am going to go

Madsion, Wisconsin native Alison Fitzgerald will leave MC at the end of the semester to return home.

GoJaspers/Courtesy home, I am going to live with my parents for the first time since I was 19, and I am going to work a low stress job – something that is more nine-to-five and something that I can just focus on other aspects of my life,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald chose to leave the department at the end of this semester because she feels confident that the current faculty will effectively fulfill the needs of studentathletes.

“Before, I always felt like I had this duty to the college and to the students to really not so much protect but just to look out for their best interest. Now I trust that we have the right people in place now. I think Marianne [Reilly] is fantastic and all of the administrators are all on the same page and want what’s best and now I can kind of go and take care of myself more,” Fitzgerald said.

Twins Nicolas (left) and Liam O’Brien run for MC’s Men’s Track and Field team GoJaspers/Courtesy

Fitzgerald to Depart at Semester’s End Ally Hutzler Editor-In-Chief

Alison Fitzgerald, the assistant athletic director for compliance and life skills, has announced that she will be leaving Manhattan at the end of the semester.

Fitzgerald, who has been with the athletic department for three years, will be returning to her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. The move, she states, is largely for financial reasons.

“I have law school loans and I did all of school myself. I absolutely love New York City but right now working in higher education and living in New York City just isn’t sustainable,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald began her career in athletic compliance during her undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin. At first, Fitzgerald was unsure about how to consolidate her interests of law, history and athletics. Her advisor suggested that she become a sports agent and go to law school.

Fitzgerald’s love for athletics was first sparked when she young. Her parents, also Madison, Wisconsin natives, have held basketball season tickets since before she was born.

“Those are pretty much my memories of going to basketball games as a kid and that excitement,” Fitzgerald said. “[Sports] was what made me excited and passionate.”

When she began her search for a law school, she discovered a program at Marquette University that offered a sports law program. Fitzgerald earned her juris doctorate from Marquette in 2008 and became a member of the state bar of Wisconsin.

During her college career Fitzgerald interned at the University of Wisconsin Parkside and with the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Office of Government Relations.

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Dec. 6, 2016

Usilo Completes Comeback

Samson Usilo missed the first two seasons of his collegiate career due to knee injuries, but has made his long awaited return to the court.

Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrange

Charles Lippolis Staff Writer

After two perilous knee injuries, most people would have counted sophomore guard Samson Usilo out.

But Usilo’s own will power, assisted by the support of his family, teammates and coaches helped him make his return.

“I learned a lot. The kind of injury I had, I had to learn what to do and what not do,” Usilo said, reflecting on the time he spent injured.

For the sophomore from Lagos, Nigeria, it has been a long road to get back on the court. In his first preseason as a Jasper, Usilo suffered an ACL injury that put him on the shelf for the entirety of his freshman year.

Usilo came into Manhattan as the marquee recruit out of Nazareth High School, in a class that also included Calvin Crawford and Zane Waterman, two of Manhattan’s most consistent players over the last two seasons.

But as if missing his first season wasn’t enough, setbacks along the path to recovery forced Usilo to sit out his second year as

well.

Even though the soft-spoken engineering student was forced to watch his teammates battle each day without him, he was still able to grow, and able to learn from the people he was surrounded by on the team.

One of those people was head coach Steve Masiello, who watched the development of a young man they knew would

very disciplined and very impressive.”

This mentality has helped Usilo persevere through his injuries, and has helped him to finally return to the court as a redshirt sophomore. However, Usilo would not have been able to make it back to court if it wasn’t for his family.

“It was tough, coming in with a lot of expectation, people ask questions,” Usilo said. “With their support and their encour-

“For the sophomore from Lagos, Nigeria, it has been a long road to get back on the court.

In his first preseason as a Jasper, Usilo suffered an ACL injury that put him on the shelf for the entirety of his freshman year.” contribute as a junior in high school.

“His ambition, whether it’s in engineering, or communications, or the way he ties his shoes, Masiello said. “I just think it’s a way for him, a lifestyle for him. It’s

agement I was able to get through”.

His family was not alone, as Usilo harped on the fact that he surrounded himself with positive people who helped him on his journey. These people weren’t just

back at home, but on campus, in the classroom and on the basketball court.

Senior guard Tyler Wilson has seen it all. In his fourth and final year, Wilson has been a contributor on two MAAC championship teams, and has watched Usilo fall, get back up and fall again. Through those struggles, Wilson was able to learn from his teammate.

“I knew he was a strong guy, but I found out he was really mentally tough,” Wilson said. “He’s going to help us a lot.”

While even Usilo admits to a little rust, he has already been on the floor regularly helping the team.

With an injury to Preseason 2nd Team All-MAAC member Rich Williams, Usilo’s minutes have seen an uptick and have been valuable, as his role as a wing player while Williams sits is imperative to the team’s success. Through seven games this season, Usilo is averaging 12.7 minutes and 2.7 rebounds per game.

With his comeback complete, Usilo is excited to not only prove to everyone at Manhattan that he is here to play ball, but to help his coaches and his teammates on their way to a championship run.