Issue 14, Spring 2017 - The Quadrangle

THE Volume 95, Issue 14

Q

UADRANGLE A Student Publication of Manhattan College Since 1924

May 2, 2017

VOICES ON THE QUAD

How are you preparing for the end of the semester?

www.mcquad.org

Retention Rates Highest in MC History Kelly Burns & Kieran Rock Senior Writers

“By getting excited for Scatterprom and spending as much time with the graduating seniors as I can.”

-Kevin Donald

“Watching a lot of Netflix and pretending I’m not graduating.”

-Olivia Smith

“Keeping on top of my work and planning things out. Also, by taking the time to relax and get my sleep. For me, the most important thing, academically, is making sure I get my sleep.”

-Mike Martello

“Studying. I have a schedule and I make sure I’m not waiting to the last minute for assignments or tests.”

-Kyle O’Neill Interviews conducted by Kieran Rock.

The Manhattan College website currently lists the freshman to sophomore year retention rate at 89 percent. William Clyde, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President, believes this is the highest retention rate in history.

“As far as I know…the school had never been to 88 percent. We went to 88 percent twice” Clyde said. “The class of 2019 retained at 89. Manhattan has always had good retention.We have always been in the 80’s,” Clyde said.

The average rate of retention from first to second year for private institutions is 70.2 percent nationally, according to U.S. News. This means Manhattan’s current rate is well above average in its ability to retain its students, a number that Clyde says is “enviable.”

The retention rate is high for a reason.

Manhattan has two committees that serve opposite ends of the retention discussion.

Clyde and Richard Satterlee, Ph.D., vice president of student life, chair the Retention Committee. The committee meets once a month and has nearly 30 members.

“The retention committee is made up of all the deans, all of the assistant deans, Rani [Roy], Marissa [Passafiume], folks from student life, Anne Vaccaro…basically all the people who know data about retention and all the people who can do something about it,” Clyde said.

Often the student voice is lacking, Clyde said, and he encourages student participation in the process.

“We would like to have students in the room. Over the years we have had students, but generally have been unsuccessful.”

The retention committee reviews data and proposes solutions to various campus offices about what they can implement in order to increase student satisfaction at the college. Clyde said many of those proposals have been implemented.

“The very first year I was here, there was NSSE data….We realized that students didn’t feel like their interaction with faculty was at a high level. They didn’t feel like their sense of the surrounding was what we were hoping it would be. They didn’t feel like they were getting diverse experiences, like talking to people who didn’t sound like themselves…and they weren’t doing service as the same level as other institutions.

They also didn’t feel like they were getting the tutoring support,” Clyde said.

“As a result of all of that we created the Arches. If you look at the goals of the Arches, they are a higher level of student faculty engagement than even our other courses, cultural experiences and service experiences out in the city,” Clyde said.

Along with the Arches, the attention

continued on Page 6

2

The

opinions & editorials

Quadrangle www.mcquad.org

2017 Is But a Number

Vol. 95 Issue 14 May 2, 2017

Rachel Gerard

Stephen Zubrycky Editor-in-Chief

My most vivid college memory is probably how often I had to write down the number “2017” as my year of graduation on various documents, and how surreal this temporal endpoint seemed. Every time my pen traced those numbers, it was a reiteration of how foreign they felt, of how far away those digits seemed in the grand scheme of college years. Especially as a freshman who often got lost trying to find the bookstore in the depths of Leo, frequented Raine and Cannon’s clad in a cheetah skirt, and who could NOT muster the energy to wake up for any 8am class, this timestamp seemed lightyears away.

Now, as a senior, writing this two weeks before graduation, 2017 is a palpable reality, and even more daunting, so is the “real world.” These four years have come and gone, and although I know I should embrace the future, I find myself begging the universe for a rewind button, to both relive and redo certain memories. My mind, like that of many of my fellow graduates, keeps grasping for these artifacts of the past four years and imagining what we would do if we could do it all over again. However, the truth is, we would not know how to grapple with these experiences in retrospect without first making mistakes originally. Likewise, our fondest memories would not be as nostalgic if we could revisit them when-

Jack Melanson News Editor Haley Burnside Joseph Liggio Asst. News Editors Ally Hutzler Features Editor Managing Editor Megan Dreher Asst. Features Editor Taylor Brethauer Arts & Entertainment Editor Managing Editor Rose Brennan Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor RikkiLynn Shields Sports Editor Charles Lippolis Asst. Sports Editor

Guest Writer

Tara Marin Social Media Editor Catherine Goodyear Asst. Social Media Editor Victoria Hernández Multimedia Editor Aaron Mayorga Photography Editor Anja Pollozi Asst. Photography Editor Alyssa Velazquez Production Editor Abbi Kirollos Asst. Production Editor Daniel Molina August Kissel 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.

May 2, 2017

ever we wanted.

Think of all that you have been through and accomplished in your short time here at Manhattan College, think of the struggles you’ve faced, the losses, the triumphs, the heart break and healing, the changes-Turns out we have been participating in something “real” all along. We have been given the tools to cultivate our minds and focus on our passions, we have been taught how to grow; things that the “real world” will continue to demand from us. Though we are leaving our safety net of lifelong friends (the kind that that let you cry about Steve Irwin’s unfortunate death after a few too many rounds at Fenwick’s), professors that double as therapists, and advisors that could always fix our mistakes, if there is one thing I have learned at Manhattan College, it is that no Jasper is ever alone.

In fact, throughout most of our respective college experiences we were intrusively bombarded by our small school, our tiny classes, and inevitably bumping into the people you especially wanted to avoid.

Yet, despite its confines, as we depart from this small domicile we have learned to call home, we leave with a sense of community and a platform to reflect on our metamorphosis over the course of these four short years. Think of how different you are from that lost freshman you once were and how you can now orient yourself towards any direction you choose. Remember that you can always change your mind and your path; there is no time limit to transforma-

tion. You can continuously build and edit your life in the multitude of experiences that lie ahead of you, just as you have learned to do here. In the words of Eric Roth, “I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” It is never too late to start over again, Jaspers.

So class of 2017, and soon to be freshman toting T-Shirts that read “2021,” a year that probably feels a millennia away, as the end of four years has for all 163 classes that have graduated Manhattan College, realize that the years creep up on you, yet it is not the passage of time that matters most but rather the things you do in its lapse. In 2021, as the aforementioned generation heads towards the senior walk, our class we will be finishing medical school and law school, constructing bridges and infrastructure, teaching and helping others, traveling the world and finding ourselves--- doing incredible things and creating experiences that build on the memories we have made during the last four years, experiences that only first being a Jasper could lead us to. So through the tears, the laughs, and probably more tears, remember class of 2017, the real world has always been a reality and time is on our side if we allow it to be. Congratulations for all the things we have accomplished at MC, and in advance for all the accomplishments our future holds. See you in ten years!

Rachel Gerard is a senior, soon to be alumna majoring in philosophy and English. She has spent her time at Manhattan College working at the Center for Academic Success, participating on the Debate Team, and contemplating existentialism.

She will be teaching abroad in Thailand this fall.

Notes from Dear Reader,

The Editor

I write you this week from the peak of Freytag’s Pyramid. My sophomore year is up, and so is the first semester of my term as Editor-in-Chief. So, in a lot of ways, this particular finals week represents a lot more for me than the past three - in that I’ll be crossing the threshold into the second half of my college career and my editorship.

Just before I left for school in 2015, one of the customers in the grocery store I worked at told me that college would be - literally - the “best four years of my life.” So far, they’ve lived up to the hype.

It’s gone incredibly fast, and I can only imagine that the next two years will fly by even faster.

Confronting the finality of our experience can be difficult, but I consider it an important motivator for me.

We only rent this place, and eventually our four-year lease will be up. These days belong to us, and it’s only up to us to make the most of them.

Enjoy the summer.

All the Best,

Stephen Zubrycky Editor in Chief

News

3

MC Students Attend Historic March for Science Tara Marin Editor

It’s 2017 and we have to march for facts.

Last Saturday, millions of people across the world marched for science. This was the first-ever pro-science, bipartisan march of its kind, and drew people of all demographics from every single continent on the planet.

Here in New York, a handful of Manhattan College students marched too.

Among these students was Carly Brownell, a freshman environmental science major, who heard about the march through Facebook and knew that she had to attend.

“I don’t know how to describe it, but I felt like that was just where I needed to be,” she said.

She brought the idea up to her lab partner, Sophia Misiakiewicz, and they attended together. Brownell regards the few hours they marched as an “amazing experience” and reflects on the experience as a whole.

“The crowds were enormous. The streets were full of people who were excited to be surrounded by other people who are passionate about science. It was not just a march against anti-environment policies, it was also a march against policies that were cutting funding for research for all different fields,” she said.

Brownell touches on an important aspect of the march: many lawmakers — not just in the United States but around the world — are actively ignoring and suppressing science. As a result of this, research funding has stagnated over the last few years, which is something that could be detrimental to public health.

Brownell continued.

“One thing that stuck out to me was that we were some of the only younger people there, which is not what I expected for protests, which I thought were traditionally run by people our age. This one, however, was almost all adults and even elderly people. It was mostly established scientists who were there to defend their jobs and the important work that they are doing.”

Sophia Misiakiewicz, a freshman and environmental science/pre-med student, attended the march along with Brownell because of her passion for the STEM community.

“The march was meant to symbolize not so much a specific area, but more to bring attention to general ideals of the scientific community including sustainability, conservation, and the importance of research. With the current social and political climate, I was interested to find out the priorities and opinions of career scientists and researchers, to better gage what the future holds in terms of research priorities and how expression of facts/data findings will be focused,” Misiakiewicz said.

Recently, President Trump signed an executive order curbing the federal government’s enforcement of climate regulations, a move which is sharp reversal of Barack Obama’s attempts to slow the increasing sea levels and global temperatures. Trump, in a statement regarding the order, said: “With today’s executive action, I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations.”

While President Trumps rhetoric and actions regarding the environment have been considered problematic and infuriating by many citizens, the crowds remained harmo-

nious.

“It was peaceful in the way that no one was pushing against each other to get to the front; many people brought their children; the police and activists were very polite to each other,” Misiakiewicz said.

Brownell explains that while she and Misiakiewicz were traveling to the march, many other people attending the march were on the subway as well. “[We were] talking about the march and science in general, and a woman came up to us and told us she was going to the same event and that she was excited to see young scientists attending as well.

The people in front of us were wetland scientists discussing their latest projects and issues they were having with funding,” she said.

Brownell confesses that the most memorable part of the march was the signs.

“The signs were my favorite part honestly because scientists can be some of the most clever people around. One of my favorites said ‘I will not be pH 7’, another said ‘kNOw science, kNOw life’, another said ‘Before you dismiss science, Mr. President, here is the molecular formula for hairspray’ and it had an image of the molecular formula,” she said.

Aside from the funny signs, many took on a more direct and serious message.

“There were a few that had an image of the Earth that said ‘Respect your mother’, a few said ‘Science not Silence’, one said something along the lines of ‘Are you not dead from a disease yet? That’s because of science.’ One that really stuck out to me had the Wildlife Conservation Society logo on it and it said ‘No Science = No Wildlife’, which was really one of the main reasons why I went to the march,” Brownell said.

Misiakiewicz reflects on the importance of the signs as well.

“Although the march was expressed online as non-partisan, there were many anti-Trump signs. Talking to people, this seemed to be due to the cutbacks on important health and scientific research, as well as to the EPA. There was an emphasis about facts on many signs, and staying informed. It was interesting to see the rejection of the ‘he-said she-said’ mentality that has been plaguing media and politics in the past years,” she said.

Brownell’s sign read, “There is no Planet B” on one side, and “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the pollution” on the other. She also recalls that for a while, the crowd was chanting,”Science makes America great!” and that she noticed many of the people there were wearing the pink cat-ear hats that were widely popular at the Women’s March in January.

Brownell nor Misiakiewicz were surprised at the massive turnout for the march; there were over 600 different science marches across the U.S. and world, and millions of people attended.

“The scientific community is very large and with the political climate, it’s become more important to express fact versus opinion, and incite discussion about issues regarding future energy resources and environmental impacts. It can be hard to express your opinion alone without an outlet for discussion or sup-

Thousands gathered in Midtown Manhattan for last week’s science march.

Several Manhattan College students, including Carly Brownell (above left) and Sophia Misiakiewicz (above right), attended the march.

Tara Marin/ The Quadrangle port. The march allowed for a platform for people of different scientific communities to come together and express their own priorities and thoughts,” Misiakiewicz said.

Many marched with disdain for President Trump, who has continually vocalized his disbelief in climate change and his desire to rollback environmental policies by defunding the EPA and funding for scientific research. As we are only in the dawn of his presidency, this can be discouraging.

For science, environmental policies, and public health, the road ahead will be long and turbulent. Still, Brownell and Misiakiewicz are willing to continue to fight, and the turnout of Saturday’s march is indicative that many others are as well.

“I believe that the concern for science and the environment is a bipartisan issue that has been distorted into a polarizing issue. Scientific research is important for so many different reasons that are not political at all, like research for cures of different diseases,” Brownell Said. “Earlier, I mentioned that I decided to go to the march because I found it on Facebook, well the reason I was so interested when I saw it was because I had just read that the current

administration was moving to pass policies that would transfer federal lands, such as National Forests and Federal Wildlife Refuges, to state ownership, which could potentially lead to them being used for property or energy development. As someone who is very passionate about nature and wildlife, the idea that the National Parks could be turned over to possibly be drilled for oil terrifies me.”

“I believe that climate change and the need for new resources of sustainability is a serious issue and action needs to be taken.

I do not think that the current administration has addressed this at all, and that the fact that environmental crises haven’t been taken seriously is itself a threat to public health. Pollution, global warming, and the need for sustainable resources aren’t a partisan issue- they’re future issues everyone with have deal with,” Misiakiewicz said.

The demonstrations on Saturday were telling of how concerned the world is for both environmental and human health.

They are also a reminder that in order to keep our civilization on track, respect for science as an institution and as an idea is crucial. Science has the public on its side.

4

news

Boat Docks on Campus: Catholic Relief Services Bring Awareness To The Syrian Refugee RikkiLynn Shields Editor

Last week, The Manhattan College Catholic Relief Services (CRS) displayed a boat cutout on the Quad to bring awareness to the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

Junior Kayli McTague, Student Ambassador for the CRS at MC, explained the purpose of this display. On the boat display, students and faculty passing by could notice photographs, graphs, poems, and other pieces of artwork provided by the Manhattan College community.

“We included photographs, poems, charts, graphs, news stories, artwork, and a number of other contributions from the college community. We hoped to have media that would appeal to everyone, because we believe everyone can and should do something. The group came up with the idea together and as we continued to work on it, everyone had an idea that shaped the final display,” McTague said.

McTague also explained to The Quadrangle that the display was much more than photos to bring awareness to a cause.

“Our display was put together with the intent of raising awareness for this issue, conveying our responsibility as Lasallians to address it, and in the coming weeks we hope to have members of the college community sign letters to their representatives to advocate for bills that will support relief efforts and prevent more damage from being done in the future. It was a collaborative effort from our organization to do something in response to one of the most pressing current humanitarian issues,” McTague said.

Lois Harr, the director of Campus Ministry and Social Action told The Quadrangle a little bit about CRS and the display, and why, we as students, educators, and faculty of a Lasallian institution should care: “As a CRS Global Campus it’s our ongoing responsibility and commitment to raise awareness and urge advocacy on serious international issues - like migration/ immigration; climate change; and human trafficking. So - as a follow up to the immigration simulation last semester we decided to highlight refugees - and ‘sailing with

solidarity: refugees in words and pictures’ was developed. We should care about this because we are a Catholic Lasallian school and uphold Human dignity, concern for the poor and social justice. It’s also a part of Catholic Social Teaching, and we are all be people of good will - Catholic, Muslim, believers, nonbelievers.... Along with that, as people with power, privilege, education in the developed world - we should think of ourselves and responsible and responsABLE. Because we are. The next step- is we need people to take some action steps - do some advocacy for Syrian refugees,”

Manhattan College Catholic Relief Services set up a boat cutout on the Quad to raise student awareness about the Syrian refugee crisis.

Harr said.

While the display most definitely made an impact on McTague and the other members of the CRS, many students and faculty were pleased to say that they were also moved by this display.

Sophomore Talia Price is not only a member of the lacrosse team, but also a campus tour guide, giving tours the week that this display was on the Quad.

“I am more than happy that our campus constantly brings awareness to issues like this– the issues that although are very important, many people sometimes fear talking about. It’s better to become educated and informed than to remain uneducated and uninformed on issues like the Syrian refugee crisis. The pictures, facts, and other writings were beautiful, and very informa-

tive. I think what made it so amazing was that the display was so accessible. Instead of looking up information or talking to a professor, we were able to see the facts, and be reminded everyday that we have to do everything in our power to first educate everyone on what’s going on, and next, help.” Price said.

The Catholic Relief Services is an official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. As Manhattan College works along with CRS, the CRS Student Ambassador’s at MC create campus engagement through acts of solidarity with everyone to build a just, peaceful world.

“The Manhattan College Catholic Relief Services Student Ambassadors seek to carry out the mission of CRS on our campus by educating our peers about major social injustices happening globally and advocating for relief for the individuals who are impacted by them. The Syrian Refugee Crisis has left more than 470,000 people dead, and more than 13.5 million displaced and/or in need of humanitarian aid,” McTague said.

As a Student Ambassador for CRS, McTague works to inspire, advocate for change, and bring awareness to worldwide issues.

“In my own reading and research about the crisis, there was one line from the poem Home by Warsan Shire that really struck me– ‘you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.’ I have been overwhelmed with how devastating it continues to be, especially as the coverage in the media continues to be less and less,” said McTague.

McTague believes that change can be made with the help of her peers, faculty, and all other members of the Manhattan College community and beyond. “I believe everyone is obligated to do something to fight atrocities like these, and especially as Lasallians, our thoughts and actions must be guided by our call to uphold human dignity whenever possible.”

Connect with the Quad. @mcquad @the_quadrangle

May 2, 2017

Trump’s 100th Day & Tax Cuts; Climate March Draws Thousands WORLD WEEKLY Daniel Molina Editor

Trump’s 100th Day After claiming that this was a “ridiculous” standard to judge his presidency, President Donald Trump went to a farm expo center in Pennsylvania on Saturday to celebrate his first 100 days in office. In a rally timed to coincide with the annual White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, which he declined to attend, Mr. Trump laced into what he has been referring to as “fake news,” which he accused of incompetence and dishonesty. The President also addressed some of the biggest issues he has tried to tackle during his first 100 days in office: the threat from North Korea, getting a health care bill passed and possibly renegotiating the Paris climate accord. This marks the first time in 36 years that a sitting president has not attended and spoken at the annual dinner of the White House press corps in Washington.

Source: CNN/The New York Times President Trump’s Tax Cuts May Be Costlier Than Expected President Trump has instructed his advisers to cut the corporate tax rate by 15 percent, a centerpiece of his tax-cut blueprint is to be unveiled this week. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump’s plan focuses on only one side of this equation, calling for a major tax cut without identifying a way to pay for it. Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%, a change the Congressional Budget Office reckons would cost more than $2 trillion over the next ten years, something that could potentially make him abandon his campaign promise to cut deficits.

Source: The Economist GDP Reports a Slow Start in 2017 Gross domestic product increased at an annualized rate of 0.7% during the first three months of the year, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2014, according to the first of three estimates released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth rate missed expectations for a 1.2% pick up, and came in well short of the 2016 fourth quarter’s 2.1% pace.

Source: Fox Business Climate March Draws Thousands Tens of thousands of demonstrators, alarmed at what they see as a dangerous assault on the environment by the Trump administration, poured into the streets here on Saturday to sound warnings both planetary and political about the Earth’s warming climate. The march came one day after President Trump signed an executive order to roll back safety regulations on offshor drilling.

Source: The New York Times

news

Semester in Review

5

Kelly Burns & Kieran Rock Senior Writers

Student Government Elections In April, the student body elected new representatives for student government.

The race saw two major parties: the Jasper Pack, led by the now president Micaela Bishop and The Campus That Never Sleeps, led by LisaMarie Nilaj. Bishop and the Jasper Pack would sweep the election. As the Quadrangle reported: Phillip Mourikes was elected executive vice president, Patrick Mauer was elected for club administration, Kaitlyn von Runnen for educational affairs, Gregory Gorman for finance, Adam Genners for social life, Patrick Estanbouli for residential affairs, Tara Marin for communication and Margaret Flores for commuter affairs.

Bishop looks forward to the future of her student government cabinet. As the Quadrangle reported: “In addition to school spirit, the Jasper Pack also has their sights set on addressing various minor issues across campus, from facilitating a dialogue between the students and Gourmet Dining to installing printers in dorm buildings.

Bishop also wants to continue the work of the current executive boards, which had goals such as ridding the dorm buildings of mice, increasing access to study spaces and Leo Hall and improving the Wi-Fi connection across campus.”

Student Leadership Seeks to Address Sexual Assault and Women’s experience on campus As the Quadrangle reported in March, students are spearheading a new Women’s center on campus. According to Alannah Boyle, one of the students helping to organize the center, “It is about experiences we have in our genders, and [providing] a place to work those out, talk about different things, and have a space for those conversations.” Olivia Smith and Victoria James are the other two organizers behind the effort. Smith, James and Boyle recruited the help of Jordan Pascoe, Ph.D., who expressed excitement about the student driven conversation. The funding for the women’s center is still in question.

In March, student leadership hosted Take Back the Night, a program that seeks

to end sexual assault and violence against women while providing education about rape culture and consent. The event included talks from Amber the Activist, adjunct professor of Law Jennifer Neal Clark, as well as an ‘I need feminism because…’ activity, and a candlelight vigil to honor survivors of sexual assault. The event has become a staple of the college calendar under the direction of Dr. Roksana Badruddoja, associate professor and department chairperson of the sociology department, and Senior Jessica Risolo as well as many other student leaders.

The new Executive Board. Manhattan College/Courtesy

Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrangle Riverdale City Grill Closes after 12 years Riverdale City Grill closed its doors for business in February. The bar was a favorite among Manhattan College students. River City, as it was most commonly called, was one of many bars to close this year. Piper’s and Cannons, two other bars that were fre-

Stephen Zubrycky/The Quadrangle

quented by MC students closed their doors this year. Piper’s has since reopened after renovations.

Considered by many a staple of Manhattan College social life, the closing of the bar after 12 years was met with sad responses by many students. As the Quadrangle reported in March: “Riverdale City Grill was definitely a pillar of the Riverdale neighborhood,” Tori Fitzpatrick said. “It was a place everyone knew, and everyone knew was good.”

Student Activism under President Trump In January, Manhattan College students were among those that marched in protest and advocacy for women’s rights and many other intersecting issues such as immigration and healthcare reform, and racial equality. The Women’s March on Washington and its affiliated marches in major U.S. cities like New York, as well as around the world, were organized in response to the election of Donald Trump. As The Quadrangle reported, Government and Politics Club adviser and Associate Professor of government, Margaret Groarke, Ph.D., helped to organize student participation in

the marches. Students marched in Manhattan as well as in Washington. The Quad reported that 39 Jaspers met at Gaelic Park to take to the streets of Washington D.C. and join an estimated 500 thousand others at the Women’s March on Washington.

In late January, President Trump signed a highly criticized executive order on immigration. The executive order, which came to be known in the following weeks as “The Muslim Ban,” was a travel ban that halted the entrance of people from “terror-prone countries from entering the United States for 90 days and suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days” according to CNN. The executive order inspired a wave of action with demonstrations at airports across the country denouncing the travel ban. On campus, the Muslim Student Association hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the executive order.

As the Quadrangle reported in February: “before a packed conference room in Kelly Commons, MSA vice president Haris Ali, who emceed the event, said the objective of the town hall was to spread love and create understanding.”

Students participated in Jummah Prayer as an act of solidarity. Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrangle

6

News Jaena Sigue Retention Rates Highest Named Newman in MC History Civic Fellow

May 2, 2017

Daniel Ynfante Senior Writer

Jaene Sigue had no idea she was nominated for a 2017 Newman Civic Fellowship. She had never even heard of the program.

But after receiving an email in early April from Kathleen Von Euw, coordinator of community partnerships and service at Manhattan College, Sigue knew well what the program was. She realized just how prestigious of a program she got into.

Sigue ’18, an environmental science major is one of 273 students in the world who have been named as 2017 Newman Civic Fellows, a program that honors students who have shown a commitment to promoting change and having an impact in their communities through their work.

“I was really shocked,” Sigue said about hearing the news. “I was happy to be nominated. I was surprised and really excited.”

Sigue was nominated by Heidi Haynes from the Mary Mitchell Center, where Sigue interns at. The junior has been involved with volunteer work and community service since she was 13, and that work has continued at Manhattan.

Sigue first joined the Lasallian Outreach Collaborative program at the school and began tutoring. She also volunteered at Part of the Solution, and is currently an intern with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), where she is working on an initiative with the New York State Department of Health to help reduce violence in the Bronx, increase youth employment and increase awareness of health problems and how to deal with them.

“I grew up in a city a lot like the Bronx

… so I know that these issues exist and I’m not the type to ignore things like that,” Sigue said about why she chose the internship with NWBCCC. It is for her extraordinary achievements that Sigue was nominated.

“Jaena shares a deep interest in public policy and understanding of low-income communities of color,” said Brennan O’Donnell, president of Manhattan College in an article on the school website.

“Her balance of critical analysis and social acumen make her participation valuable for both the team and the two communities they engage.”

Although Sigue is in school for environmental science, she admits that her experiences and the opportunities the fellowship will give her might convince her to pursue a career in social outreach.

Sigue was in Washington, D.C., from Apr. 23 to Apr. 25 for a National People’s Action event and kept hearing she should do this for a living.

“While we were there, a lot of people were encouraging me to run for council or try to go into law school, or to kind of continue this path,” Sigue said. “I’ve really been considering it, and I might.”

Sigue still isn’t too clear on everything she will have to do as a Newman Fellow, as the news is pretty recent to her. However, she knows she officially starts in September, and will have a national meeting with all the Fellows in November in Boston. Newman Fellows are also given access to numerous exclusive scholarships, networking events and postgraduate opportunities.

“I know it can open plenty of doors and I know it will,” Sigue said. “With all the networking events and things that they have catered to us, I’ll definitely take advantage of all the opportunities that they’re going to give me.”

continued from Page 1

paid to tutoring service on campus also grew out of recommendation by the retention committee. The Multicultural center was similarly a recommendation of the retention committee in recognition of the need to serve a diverse population of students, according to Clyde.

“There have been many initiatives, each one arising from analysis of data that identifies specific needs one of the populations we are serving and the initiative is meant to address that issue,” he said.

The retention committee also seeks to uphold the Lasallian mission of Manhattan College.

“This is very Lasallian. It is very mission related. The Lasallian mission is about meeting students where they are and meeting their needs. Each population has different needs,” Clyde said.

“Our mission is to serve underserved populations, a diverse population. If you recruit them but don’t give them the tools to success, you’re not serving them. In fact, you could think you’re setting them up for failure.”

The retention committee is one of two committees that address these student specific questions. The other is the enrollment committee headed by Dr. William Bisset, Vice President of Enrollment Management. Retention, recruiting and enrollment are all closely related projects.

The Class of 2019- which was retained at such a high level- was also a larger class than anticipated.

“We look to bring in a class of 820 to 830 new freshmen each year,” Bisset said.

“When we had modeled for [the class of 2019], in terms of the way we were making our admissions offers and the way we were developing our financial aid and scholarship models, we were expecting a

class of about 840,” he said.

The admissions office converted a higher number of students than expected that year, which Bisset said was fine. “We were able to accommodate that class, but we didn’t set out that year to enroll 900 students,” he said. “We just happened to have a higher number take us up on our admissions offer.”

The next year Bisset and the admissions department intentionally designed and modeled for a smaller class for the class of 2020.

Andrew Weingarten, the Director of Residence Life, said that his office was able to accommodate the larger class of 2019 without a problem. “We have to be ready for that scenario. We do that by planning and forecasting and keeping an eye on the numbers,” he said.

Weingarten said there are various factors that can be adjusted, such as the number of single rooms on campus and the offers of housing to graduate students, in order to give priority to undergraduate students.

Bisset said that admissions still aims to enroll a class of around 820 to 830 students. “We feel that, number one: we won’t be jeopardizing our admissions standards by bringing in classes of that size. Number two: we can meet our mission related goals and objectives to the way in which that class is shaped,” he said.

The size of the class factors into the strain on campus resources and the use of those resources, both Clyde and Bisset said, were a major factor in the rise in retention rates.

“Classes of that size allow us, for instance in terms of housing needs, keep our residential facilities at 100 percent occupancy, but not 110 percent,” Bisset said.

The FED Challenge: Economics Brought to Life

Victoria Hernandez Editor

According to the Manhattan College website, the College Fed Challenge is a national academic competition for undergraduates hosted annually by the Federal Reserve Bank.

The participating teams analyze the current state of the U.S. economy and make a recommendation for future monetary policy actions to a panel of judges who work at the Federal Reserve Bank.

A few Manhattan College students, mainly in the Business School will be participating in the upcoming Fall semester.

The competition involves both a presentation and a rapid-fire Q&A session with the judges. Teams who win their regional competition advance to the national competition held in Washington, D.C. Shaina Colombo, a junior, has been working with the Fed Challenge team for a year now.

“The first meeting was unlike anything I had ever seen from a class or club, as it was more like a combination of the two. Such advanced topics were being

discussed, yet the atmosphere was so laidback,” Colombo said.

For her, the first meeting seemed intimidating, as the vocabulary used was pretty advanced.

“But I felt comfortable asking questions and the members were more than happy to answer them. After the second meeting, I was hooked. As dorky as this sounds, the level of excitement involved in learning about theories and then using them to come up with solutions to real world issues is addicting,” Colombo said.

According to Colombo, the FED Challenge pushes the participating students intellectually. It really brought what she had learned in her Economics class to life.

“I actually started to excel in all of my classes because I became so much more confident in my intellectual abilities. Dr. Guirguis dedicates everything to this team and it’s impossible not to want to reciprocate that feeling,” Colombo said.

The process of preparation is more demanding as the team gets closer to the competition in early December. At this point in the preparation cycle, the research is a bit more individual-focused as they are all trying to expand their knowledge.

As everyone on the team begins to know more and more, they start teaching

their other team members what they’ve learned so far. In August, the preparation shifts and becomes more teamwork-based as they all start preparing and practicing their formal presentation.

“New students can integrate in the challenge by emailing Dr. Guirguis! He will probably ask if you want to come to a meeting or two to see how you like it, just like he did with me!” said Colombo.

Eric Scalone, a sophomore, joined the team recently. “I was motivated to participate because I wanted to deepen my understanding of economics and I wanted to be a part of a club/community of students who were equally motivated,” said Scalone.

His experience with the other team members was similar to Colombo’s.

“Everyone in the club made me feel as if I have known them for years. Whenever I didn’t understand a topic, everyone gladly spent however long it took for me to have a full understanding of the topic before moving onto the next one,” said Scalone.

Competitors in the FED Challenge are destined to gain an in-depth knowledge of macroeconomics and the role of the Federal Reserve, experience examining empirical data and statistical models, experience in public speaking and teamwork,

an introduction into career opportunities in economics and finance and lastly, networking opportunities with peers from other schools, professors and Federal Reserve employees.

For Colombo, it’s not so much as the competition that’s rewarding but more of the process itself.

“I have grown so much as not only a student, but as an individual as well, with every meeting we have. Plus, being a part of this team is, in lack of better words, fun.

At the end of the day, that’s what makes me so happy to be on the FED and feel so rewarded by it,” Colombo said.

Scalone, on the other hand, says personal growth has been a main component in his experience.

“The most exciting thing about the process is reflecting on your improvement over the months, and knowing that you are going to continue improving until the day of the competition,” said Scalone.

Colombo recommends this activity to anyone who is interested in economics.

“We had a lot of different majors last team, so being an economics major doesn’t matter at all. If you are in any way curious about the FED team, go to a meeting! You won’t regret it!” Colombo said.

Features

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Sophomore Hannah Rome on Life at M.C.

7

Bennett Hall Contributor

Hannah Rome, a sophomore at Manhattan College, is someone that radiates positivity. She rarely has a bad day and she strives to be kind to everyone. She is very much a people person, and that combined with her dynamic life is what shaped her to be who she is today.

Rome comes from a multicultural family that lives in Northampton, Mass. Rome is half black from her father’s side, half white from her mother’s side, but often gets mistaken for being from the Dominican Republic.

Both of her biological parents have passed away, but she now has two moms, both white. She also has two sisters, Lily and Sophie, along with more than a few cousins. They all live with their dogs, Nina, a cockapoo, and Nola, a mastiff. Although Rome’s family is about a four and a half hour train ride away, she still sees them often.

Northampton is a quirky town, and she described it as “hippy and earthy crunchy.”

She says it is kind of like high school in the way that it is very much a bubble. Everyone knows all the events that go on and word-of-mouth happens pretty quickly.

“It’s very small and everyone knows what goes on,” said Rome. “It’s also very liberal and progressive and we even have a rainbow sidewalk in the center of town.”

Although she liked growing up there, she said it is not a place she would want to spend the rest of her life. She does not know where she plans to move but she is looking to stay close to a big city. Her attraction to city life is what drove her to come to Manhattan College.

“I didn’t really care if I moved specifically to New York City or not,” she said.

“Ultimately I just wanted to move to a big city, whether that was Boston or New York,

and New York just worked out for me.”

She wanted a small school that was not directly in the city but had easy enough access, and Manhattan College fit all of her criteria. Now that she has attended the school for almost two years now, she does wish it was a little bit bigger so she could meet more people.

One of the things that makes Manhattan College feel most at home for her are the workers in Locke’s Loft, the physical plant crew and many of the various security guards. Rome is a very personable and charismatic person and she has gotten to know almost all of them on a first name basis.

“One of my favorite people that works in Locke’s is Fabio,” Rome said. “They’re all super nice there but Fabio and I have a friendship and sometimes he even makes me omelets. For my birthday Fabio surprised me with a orange bracelet and a pack of blueberries. In return I wrote him a very nice thank you letter and I plan to give him a birthday gift as well.”

Rome has a very busy life on campus.

She goes to the gym every morning, and when she doesn’t go to the gym she attends the zumba class on Tuesday nights. She also works at the Multicultural Center in the Kelly Commons multiple days a week.

She helps out with events all throughout campus such as trivia nights, hosting cultural bands and setting up dinners.

Working at the Multicultural Center means she works a lot with people from all different walks of life. At her home in Northampton she worked at the local YMCA, which first got her interested in working with people, specifically kids.

Later on she worked with a non profit called Project Coach.

“Project Coach was a really cool

Hannah Rome/Courtesy place,” she said. “It was actually in Springfield which is one of the poorest towns in Massachusetts. The organization helped to mentor and tutor less fortunate kids. They also coached them seasonal sports and gave them that opportunity they may not have gotten without this organization.”

Because of her history with less fortunate individuals she was interested in taking the Rikers Island class at Manhattan College taught by Professor Skotniki.

“The class involves working with inmates ages 18-22 who are about to be sen-

tenced or have their bail set,” described Rome. “Together we take a class on the ethics of criminal justice and after the semester is over they get an acceptance letter to Manhattan College and get to attend the school for free when they are released”.

After graduating Manhattan College Rome does not know what she wants to do. She is still figuring out exactly what she wants to do but she knows she would definitely like to work with less fortunate people.

PEOPLE OF MANHATTAN

Samitheus Savinon “I’m a Freshman marketing major with minors in accounting and finance. But honestly, I would love to be an actress. I watch stuff, especially Sci-Fi, and then I like to critique it, like “Oh, maybe I can do that”. That’s also why I’m in Players, I did the murder mystery. I want to be able to move an audience, but I also want to do something that’s different. If I were to do acting, I would definitely be the type of person to be interactive with fans. I think I would be really humble about it, like I’m really social around campus and I love getting to know other people, so I would never turn a fan away.”

Interview conducted by Megan Dreher

8

Senior Farewells

May 2, 2017

Kelly Burns

One of my favorite Quadrangle memories happened during my first semester as Production Editor. It was the night the men’s basketball team won the MAAC Championship my freshman year in 2014. That Sunday, we had put together the entire newspaper not knowing if we would win the game or lose. We planned that if the team wins we would change the front page, if they lose, we leave it. I was sitting in Café 1853 watching the game when all of a sudden the Jaspers defeated Iona and won the championship. The second the final buzzer rang I was off running back to the newspaper office to change the front page. In the meantime, the sports editor was still sitting in the basketball stands writing the game-winning article that would now take over the front page. I still get chills thinking about how quickly and professionally all the editors worked at 12am to get the story out for the next morning. The front page read: “What’s a Jasper? A Champion.” It was accompanied by a photo of the team holding the MACC championship trophy. I remember feeling so important. Seeing everyone on campus pick up our newspaper the next day was the best feeling. We broke the news. We had the story and the picture.

That being said, one of my least favorite Quadrangle memories was when Kieran plugged in the space heater in our chilly, decrepit Overlook office and the computer screen went blank. The newspaper I had been working on for six hours disappeared because Kieran was cold. Whatever, I’m over it.

I couldn’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent sitting in front of the computer screen on Sundays laying out text boxes and begging editors to send in photos, but I can say that it was absolutely worth it. Being a member of The Quadrangle has been such a rewarding and invaluable experience for me. I want to thank all the writers and editors throughout the years who somehow made working for a student newspaper so much fun. I owe a special thank you to the two people who have been by my side in both newspaper and life these past four years: Sean Sonneman and Kieran Rock. It’s been fun and it’s been funny. That’s press.

Lindsey Burns

Senior Farewells

Sean Sonnemann

Four years ago when I accepted a scholarship to work on the student newspaper of Manhattan College, I had not the slightest idea about what I was getting myself into.

Never would I have thought that I would stay awake until 2:00 a.m. to get last minute results from a championship basketball game.

Never would I have thought that I would get the chance to interview everyone from the governor of New York to a platinum-selling rock band.

Never would I have thought that I would have to sprint up the OV steps in the rain to quite literally “stop the presses” with a changing headline at the printer deadline.

Never would I have thought that I would get to see the Pope in person from the press box at Madison Square Garden, pore through the library’s archives to get to the bottom of a college myth, and write my own music column.

Never would I have thought that I would have made some of the best friends that I will surely know for a lifetime.

These past four years I have seen The Quadrangle transform. I am proud to have been a part of it and do my best to help our newspaper grow into a true 21st Century media organization.

At our small college we may not have the most Earth-shattering headlines every week— but when important news does break, we are there to keep the community informed and the college honest. I can confidently say that the newspaper is in good hands to continue writing the first draft of the college’s history.

Although I will always bitterly be a proponent of the Oxford comma, being a part of The Quadrangle has given me a profound respect for the world of journalism. I can’t wait to keep on reading some of my talented Squadrangle members’ work in print during the years to come. I can say without reservation that working on The Quadrangle has been one of the best parts, if not the best part of my time here at Manhattan College. It certainly helped me to stay sane while doing four years of engineering homework.

Thank you to everyone who made that the case.

When I arrived to the first day of Quad class and met Kelly Burns and Sean Sonneman, I probably wasn’t aware of how much The Quadrangle would come to run my life over the next four years. In a lot of ways, the Quad helped me more than anything else to transition to my first year of college. There are too many memories to include here, but I will do my best to say thank you to everyone and remember everything. I have to thank the group of upperclassmen who led the Quad when I first arrived. They made it such a fun environment and set the stage for us all to grow into the leaders of the paper we became. I need to use this space to, once more, defend the Features section as crucial to the paper and, honestly, as the best section. My family of features editors from Claire to Ally to Tara and back to Ally: thank you for making Features what it is. When I think about the Quad I think of the quote wall where, in times of delirium the things we said made absolutely no sense, but sent us into such fits of laughter that they needed to be recorded forever. I think of the dead cockroach that lived its life bravely (probably) and died in the light of our Overlook office. I think of Kelly crying at the cast goodbyes from Highschool Musical and Sean having better taste in music than all of us. The Quad has meant a lot and so it’s hard to really get what I want to say into the words I need to write here. I am not a journalist and I probably never will be, but the things that the Quad taught me go well beyond journalism. The Quad has taught me how to be team player, how to make tough decisions, and ultimately to ask questions.

I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done and I only hope that the leaders of the paper for years to come will continue to make significant growth. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Quad memories: the first time we attended the College Media Association conference. The CMA was for college newspapers and media outlets and there was a lot to learn. I remember going to a panel discussion on Satire that greatly influenced how we approached the Triangle edition for the last four year. The highlight though, was in a presentation on funding and advertising where, after a long day, we slipped once again into delirium and Michelle, Kelly, Natalie, and I could not stop laughing while a very nice woman tried to tell us how to make the most of our web content.

Michelle professionally pulled herself together and asked a question, while the rest of us hid our faces in our hands and wheezed. The Quad was a lot of things; it was stressful, it was sometimes annoying, it was hard work, but above all the Quad was fun. If it hadn’t been fun, it wouldn’t have been the Quad I know and love.

Back during my freshman year, 2017 seemed so unimaginably far away. It felt like I had all the time in the world to do the things that I wanted to do during my time at Manhattan College. So I didn’t start writing for the Quadrangle until about midway through spring semester of my freshman year. Looking back now, I want that wasted semester back so badly. If I could do it all over again, I would start writing for the Quad that very first week I came to college.

Being a part of the Quad has been one of the best experiences of my entire college experience. I can still remember writing my very first article, for which I covered the first Coffeehouse of the semester, and being so nervous. At the time, I thought I had maybe wanted to go into sports journalism. But writing this first Arts & Entertainment article for then-editor Lauren Carr unexpectedly set in motion my A&E obsession.

Working in the A&E section — first as Lauren’s assistant editor, and then as editor myself the following year — I learned what it truly felt like to be completely responsible for something. The A&E section became my baby, and I wanted it to thrive (and still do!).

I think this is something everyone involved with the Quad can understand. Every week, the staff puts so much time and energy into creating a consistent, reliable source of news for the Manhattan College community. Getting to be a part of this incredibly important publication, if only for my short time at Manhattan College, makes me feel so lucky.

During these past three and a half years with the Quad, I’ve written countless articles, edited probably even more, honed my journalistic skills and finally (and begrudgingly) stopped using the Oxford comma when writing in AP Style. But, I’ve also met some of my closest friends and made some of my most cherished memories.

You never really forget the feeling you had when you first saw your byline published somewhere. So thank you, Quad, for giving me that. And thank you, thank you, thank you for everything else, especially for shaping my time here at Manhattan College for the better.

Kristie Killen In high school, I was editor-in-chief of my school’s tiny newspaper. My parents made me participate in the club because my sister was the editor five years earlier. As an immature teenager, I wasn’t that good at my job, but I loved to write so I persevered and continued to do the job. When I entered college, I became friends with some of the members of The Quad. Too scared to attend a meeting for fear of standing out for being the “newbie,” I stood back and applauded their hard work each week. By sophomore year, I finally gained enough courage and joined my friends for a meeting. After that first meeting I became hooked. For three years, I went on from being a writer to Social Media Editor. Being part of the social media team has led me to find a passion within a field I desire to enter. I learned so much from my mentor Sean McIntyre and I am grateful to have passed that knowledge down.

Since joining, I have become part of this big family. I have been able to talk to people I never imagined I ever would be able to and hear stories of pure inspiration that make me proud to call myself a Jasper.

I never thought that a weekly meeting in a small club room would allow me to become part of a “Quaddie” family. I never imagined that a small college newspaper would allow me to gain friends for life and offer me lessons that I will carry on with me forever more.

Kieran Rock

9

Daniel Ynfante

If in September 2013 you would have told me that by the time I’d graduate I’d write dozens of articles, cover two NCAA Tournaments, done two internships and gotten into Columbia Journalism School, I would have looked at you like you were crazy.

Yet four years later, that is my reality, and it is all thanks to the Quadrangle. I can sit here and type up a 5,000 word feature story on how the Quadrangle changed my life, but yea… let’s not get too crazy here. So I’ll sum up as best as I can how this small student paper opened up so many doors for me and has impacted my career.

But as important as the Quad has been to me, I came very close to not even joining.

Freshman year I applied to a Quadrangle Scholarship, given to five incoming freshmen who show exceptional writing ability. I thought, ‘hey that’s me.’ Wrong. I didn’t get it.

Thanks to the persistence of one very special man, I picked myself up and decided I’d join the Quad, with or without that scholarship. This man, who I consider a friend and a mentor today was Joe Cutbirth.

As advisor of the newspaper and my journalism professor, Cutbirth guided me through my first year and a half at the Quad. When he left in the middle of 2014, I couldn’t help but feel the void that was left behind at the paper, but I, along with the rest of the Quadrangle staff had obtained all the tools necessary to pick up where we left off and take the newspaper to a new level.

Together with the rest of my friends and colleagues at the paper, we helped elevate the Quadrangle to where it’s at today. We ushered in a new website, helped build a respectable social media presence and increased our following on campus.

I cannot be more proud of the work we did over my four years at the paper, and as I leave and enter grad school, I can only hope to keep building valuable experiences like the ones I was blessed with at the Quadrangle.

10

Arts & Entertainment

May 2, 2017

On Campus Fashion Finds Lauren Schuster Staff Writer

Ben Wojick is a freshman majoring in marketing from Buffalo, N.Y. He sat down and discussed his style with us.

The Quadrangle: How would you describe your style?

Ben Wojick: I would probably describe my style as city chic, I guess, but it depends, because I’m from Buffalo, so I don’t really dress the same at home as I would when I’m shopping in the city. So, when I’m here, it’s more city/urban-y type of clothes and when I’m home it’s definitely more preppy, I guess.

TQ: How did you notice your style change as you grew older?

BW: Well, definitely coming to college was a big change. [I was] moving to a bigger city where there’s not only more options for shopping, but you can wear more things because there’s more opportunities to do things, stuff like that. But I’ve definitely matured this year especially in how I’ve dressed and I’ve come to enjoy it more too, picking out outfits and stuff.

TQ: Would you wear what you wore in high school now?

BW: Never, no! I went to an all-boys private school, so not only did I have to wear a shirt and tie, but I had to wear ugly shirts and ties every single day! So, as soon

as I graduated last year I went right to the Salvation Army and was like “Take all of this away from me!” I mean, some of the stuff I would probably wear like maybe a button down [shirt] or something like that but [generally] not my style. Khakis and loafers? No thanks!

TQ: What are some of your favorite places to shop?

BW: Well, Zara is probably my favorite place to go, but they’re expensive sometimes. I love Topshop too, because they have really good sales. I love American Apparel, especially now that they’re closing because I’ve gotten so much stuff on sale. J. Crew I really like for some stuff, and then H&M and Forever21 for basics and stuff like that.

TQ: Tell us where your outfit is from!

BW: My sweater is Topman but it’s from Nordstrom, my jeans are just from Forever21, my shoes are from Topman too, then my watch is Michael Kors, my rings are from Topman as well, and then this [pouch] is from Louis Vuitton.

TQ: If you were given $1,000 to spend in one store, where would you spend it and why?

BW: Honestly, I would probably have to pick Zara, because I feel like every time I go there I always say to my friends “If I had a million dollars I would just buy every single thing here,” because, I don’t know, it’s just such fast fashion that I want

to buy it all, but I know that [after] spending $300 on a jacket I won’t wear it enough to pay for it, but with $1,000 I would just swipe, swipe, swipe!

TQ: How do you plan your outfits?

BW: So, for class, I never dress up, never ever. I am always wearing sweats and a hoodie, just because honestly, I feel like it’s because I went to a boys school where I had a uniform to wear every day, I kind of just was sort of used to throwing the same thing on every single day. So, it takes a lot of effort for me to try to put an outfit together. So, I usually think about what I’m doing that day. So, if I’m going into the city, [I think about] what I’m doing, whether I’m going out to eat, and just sort of how I want to feel that day, I guess.

When I go into the city, I also always dress like I’m going to see a celebrity. So I think to myself, “What am I going to want to be wearing in the picture, my selfie with soand-so?”

TQ: What is your favorite piece of clothing?

BW: I would have to say I love jackets. My tiny wardrobe in Lee Hall is jam packed with probably like, twenty different jackets. I just like them the best I think, of any piece of clothing, because it changes an outfit completely. You could be wearing the same thing and just change your jacket, and then change something that was plain in and of itself and make it completely dif-

The Pulitzer prize-winning play brings together the emotions of all families, both bad and good, to the center for discussion with topics such as drug use and jealousy.

Also, how all the characters have special relationships to one another, often in secret which builds tension as the audiences sees the layers of this story unfold.

The men behind putting this all together aside from the amazing actors who bring these characters to life are sophomore Matt Peters and junior Sam Corby. Working as a team to bring this performance to life, they picked this play with a special idea in mind.

“Sam [Corby] and I talked about how we wanted a show where there is a lot of female talent. Obviously the main five roles are all female and so I think they went into it knowing that they were going to have to dedicate a lot work to build a good character which may be something they haven’t done in the past. This was different, especially taking place in the Midwest and we

have never done anything like that before,” said Peters.

In this performance, which was sprinkled with hints of comedy and undertones of genuine suffering all mixed with a difficult acceptance of the circumstances, freshman Peter Martino was tasked with bringing to live a bond of a loving father and a misunderstood son. His role in the final performance of the year for the Players was to bring to life Charlie Aiken, a 60-year-old man trying to get acceptance for his son Little Charles from his wife, Mattie Fae Aiken, but also trying to keep the family together as much as he can.

“I got to say, my personal favorite aspect of this is Little Charles and his father’s relationship mainly because Charlie has to know that this may not really be his son but he still loves him wholeheartedly and without any reservations so it’s just heartbreaking to see how everything turns out,” said Martino.

As this is their last performance for the

Ben Wojick shows off his style.

Lauren Schuster/The Quadrangle ferent. I like that. I also am obsessed with sunglasses and fake glasses too. I have a ton of fake glasses and sunglasses too, just because it’s an easy thing to add to an outfit.

August Osage County Play Reading Gabriel Gamarra Contributor

“Life is very long.” Those words by T.S. Eliot echo in Manhattan College’s Hayden 100 as a small and intimate crowd gather to watch the MC Players put on a classic performance.

It’s 8:00 p.m. on a Thursday night in room 100, the white and grey walls work hand-in-hand the red seats to create a somber feeling in the room as the seventeen players enter dressed in all black. Two weeks removed from their last performance, they set up behind their back metal podiums under the wooden light fixture that floats above them and begin with those famous words, “life is very long.”

August: Osage County, originally a Broadway play, this dark comedy crafted by Tracy Letts follows the events of a small family as they all deal with the passing of their father in their own ways.

year, they have set the bar high for themselves coming back to the auditorium next year. Each member of the Players gave their all in bringing this family and their troubles to life, ultimately winning over the crowd by making them feel like a fly on the wall into their familial issues. CoDirector and actor Sam Corby has his mind set on coming back next year with even more firepower.

“We want the school to see that we are capable of bring people together doing that in a professional way. For next year, we want to keep pushing it to be even better and bigger even though these are student run shows, We can still have that level of professionalism that that I think people and other student coming to see will really enjoy and be surprised by,” said Corby.

Next year brings new opportunities and a bigger scale for the MC Players to bring the best out of one another and deliver the amazing product that they are known for.

Manhattan and Lotus Magazines Release Shannon Silvia Contributor

The end of the semester means the release of two student publications on the Manhattan College campus. Veteran publication Manhattan Magazine will be releasing its 27th volume while up-and-coming publication Lotus Magazine will be releasing its first.

The team behind Manhattan Magazine is hard at work making sure everything is perfect before the latest issue is released on May 5.

According to the magazine’s editorin-chief Kieran Rock, “one thing that I’ve tried to do with my staff over the last two years is just make sure the quality of the content that was in the magazine is really high. And I think every year we’ve gotten

more and more quality content inside the magazine which has been really exciting.

And this year I think it’s the best it’s ever been.”

Manhattan Magazine may have been the only literary magazine on campus for a while but Rock is nothing but excited when it comes to the upcoming release of Lotus Magazine. “[Manhattan Magazine] has been for a while the only literary magazine and publisher of creative student work on campus. This year you might have seen some newer student magazines are coming out. Lotus in particular is having a lot success. So we’re sort of losing our only magazine thing which is really great I think,” said Rock.

Coeditor-and-chief and founder of Lotus Magazine Olivia Paladino is buzzing with excitement over the release of the magazine which should be out within

the next week.

When asked about her inspiration behind Lotus, Paladino said, “I wanted to be a part of something that wasn’t like what was offered here on campus. I felt there was a need to have a better concentration on strong women. I had the idea to start Lotus for quite some time now, and this past fall I decided it was time to finally start it.

Empowered women, empower women, you know? I just felt this would be the best way to implement that motive.”

The magazine covers ranges of topics all geared towards women. Whether you are looking to read up on extremely important issues like rape culture or just learn some fun beauty tips, Lotus will have it all.

When asked what readers could expect to see from the upcoming issue Multimedia Director Alison Adrat said, “It’s a lifestyle magazine so it ranges from rape culture, [...], cute tips to decorating your dorm

room, cheap makeup that you can get at drugstores from like Rite Aid, a bunch of do it yourself tutorials, skin care, a bunch of different things like that.”

Unlike any magazine in Manhattan College history Lotus magazine is specifically aimed towards women with the goal of empowering them. Both magazines will be released to students and staff of the college by the end of the semester.

“Lotus Magazine is a magazine that is meant to empower all women to feel good about themselves. We want to promote all the good things ladies are doing here at MC, and we also will bring in Alumni women to see how far they have come in their life. We bring attention certain situations that women face that no one else has done before,” Katherine Compton, section editor and managing editor said.

Kieran Rock is a senior writer for The Quadrangle.

Arts & Entertainment

11

Summer Superhero Mash-Ups CINEMA’S TOP FIVE Justin Meinken Staff Writer

Honorable Mentions (because this list was way too hard to make): X-Men and X-Men 2 directed by Bryan Singer, Iron Man directed by Jon Favreau, Thor directed by Kenneth Branagh, The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron directed by Joss Whedon, X-Men: First Class directed

by Matthew Vaughn, The Wolverine and Logan directed by James Mangold, AntMan directed by Peyton Reed, and Doctor Strange directed by Scott Derrickson.

Number Five: X-Men: Days of Future Past, directed by Bryan Singer.

Inspired by classic time-travel films like the Back to the Future trilogy, X-Men: Days of Future Past mainly focuses on Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) and his journey back in time to stop the apocalyptic future that all mutants now face. Peter Dinklage plays the main antagonist, Bolivar Trask, whose goal is to utilize mutant abilities to create mutant hunting machines called “Sentinels” and if time is not corrected, he might just succeed. These story elements, as well as many others, meld together to form an incredible sci-fi thriller that stars

all the iconic X-men characters.

Best Scene: Quicksilver’s action sequence in the kitchen beneath the Pentagon.

Number Four: Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn.

When Marvel decided to create a film starring a rag-tag team of intergalactic degenerates based off a 2008 comic book series, most critics didn’t have high expectations. However, Marvel struck gold with their killer cast featuring Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Zoe Saldana as well as their use of expert comedic writing. This memorable cast forms the very likable “Guardians of the Galaxy” as they’re eventually known, and the film focuses heavily on the team learning to work together. While the team members are at each other’s throats, they have to put aside their differences as they battle across the galaxy.

Best Scene: Groot foregoes the plan and immediately steals a Quarnex battery in front of their captors.

Number Three: The Captain America trilogy, directed by Joe Johnston, Joe Russo, and Anthony Russo.

The once cheesy and melodramatic Marvel superhero got his proper film introduction in 2011 and started a very successful trilogy. Chris Evans plays the famed Captain America, a World War II super soldier turned American hero. Loosely based off the real life veteran Audie Murphy, Captain America is a skilled warrior with a big heart who maintains his virtues even when he is pushed well beyond his limits. As more Marvel films continue to star Captain America and his friends, only one thing is certain: The Captain will defend the Avengers with his own shield, or be carried on it.

Best Scene: The airport action sequence. (Captain America: Civil War) Number Two: Deadpool, directed by Tim Miller.

Prepare for one of the greatest comedies of all time and the second highest grossing R-rated movie in history with 363 million dollars at the box office. Ryan Reynolds stars as your friendly neighborhood pool guy as he showcases his unmatched abili-

ties to fight crime and do fourth wall jokes.

Deadpool uses everything from swords to a Zamboni to defeat endless waves of comedic baddies in his quest to save his girlfriend and look good while doing it. A sequel is set for 2018.

Best Scene: The entire action sequences and dialogue exchange on the highway.

Number One: The Dark Knight trilogy, directed by Christopher Nolan.

At a time when superhero movies were exclusively seen as children’s films, Christopher Nolan formed a dark and disturbing adaptation of one of the most iconic comic book characters. Christian Bale plays Batman, or “The Dark Knight” as he is later known, and the trilogy encompasses the majority of his life. Not only did this series produce one of the greatest superheroes in all of film, but it also produced one of the most infamous villains in movie history.

Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is absolutely chilling and beyond disturbing, and his performance alone easily places the Dark Knight trilogy on the number one spot.

Best Scene: The Joker saying, “Wanna know how I got these scars?” (The Dark Knight)

Student Turns Line of Handmade Accessories Into Successful Business A&E PROFILE Olivia Paladino Contributor

College is expensive—this is a fact most students have, unfortunately, become very familiar with during their experience at Manhattan College.

Between tuition, textbooks, and—let’s face it—Uber, deli food, and nights out with friends, you might find yourself with an over drafted checking account more often than you’d like to admit. While some pay their expenses by working jobs on or off campus, this is not always an option many students’ lifestyles and schedules.

Sophomore Olivia Gartland, a Marketing and Business Analytics major at Manhattan College, has taken a more nontraditional route to her growing income by creating her own accessory business, called Olivia Mae Designs.

“Instead of buying souvenirs for my friends after my trip to Barcelona, I decided to make my friends leather trinkets,” she said, “Everyone loved them so much, and encouraged me to sell them to make some extra money on the side.”

Advertising “trendy, original, handmade accessories” on her company’s Instagram account, Gartland sells durable leather wallets, in a variety of colors, that will add a cool, rocker vibe to any outfit, as well as glasses cases, book marks, and credit card holders. All products are created by Gartland herself, and are sold through her Etsy store for about 20-25 dollars each. The price, she explains “includes labor and material costs. Each one takes me about two hours, more or less,

Gartland’s handmade wallets are available on her Etsy shop, Olivia Mae Design. Olivia Gartland/Courtesy depending on the size.”

In addition to the extra spending cash, starting her own business has provided Gartland with valuable industry experience that the typical part-time gig could not. “I have always wanted an opportunity to start my own company. Selling my wallets through Etsy is a glimpse at what that may be like. I also love to create my own products, which would be cool to tie into my own future business,” she said, “The opportunity to promote my company is also a challenge that will teach me helpful insight in the marketing field.”

According to Gartland, learning how to create the wallets “was really just result of trial and error.” After watching tutorials on YouTube on riveting (using a metal pin to hold two pieces together)

and leather-working, she purchased the materials and decided to give the wallets a shot. “The first few were totally messy,” she remembered, “But I’ve gotten a lot better with practice.”

To make her products, she typically purchases materials from a leather store in Manhattan, cuts the leather in her dorm room, and assembles them outdoors using a hammer. From there, they are posted on her Etsy account for purchase.

“With Etsy, shipping is very easy. First of all, I pay a monthly fee to own a shop on their website, so they do offer some services to us merchants,” Gartland said, “They create a shipping label for me, and I just package up the wallet in whatever box or bag I can find. Etsy will also quote the shipping cost when the buyer enters his/her mailing address, so my job is super simple.”

Though she admits it has been difficult to keep up with her business during the school year, Gartland has big plans for Olivia Mae Designs this coming summer, including new merchandise and improved media presence.

“I hope to increase my sales and step up my social media game. I also hope to form a solid inventory, rather than just making the wallets on demand. I would like to branch out to mens wallets and purses,” she said, “I have a reversible shearling purse in the works right now and I just gave away my first male wallet. Trying new product types and seeing what works is going to be a long process, but an exciting one.”

Follow Olivia Mae Designs on Instagram, @OliviaMaeDesign, and purchase Gartland’s hand-made accessories at www. etsy.com/shop/OliviaMaeDesign.

Arts & Entertainment

12

May 2, 2017

Students Get Creative with Fashion & Music Show on the Quad Jeremy Loffredo Staff Writer

On Saturday evening, Apr 28, students gathered on the Quad to check out their peers’ creative endeavors during the student-organized Celebration of Art Fashion Show. The show featured everything from paintings and music to student-designed clothing and apparel.

“It’s just nice to see MC students coming, listening to music, and enjoying the beautiful weather,” said Cameron Gibbons, a junior sociology student.

Sarah Lazarus, a sophomore engineering student, struck a similar tone and said, “The whole thing is really a great idea. I think students at Manhattan College often have a really creative side that they don’t get to express on campus as much as they would like, but this show gives them the perfect platform.”

Brother Robert Berger, echoing the sentiments expressed by Lazarus, said that the show had “great energy and gives students an excellent outlet for expressing themselves outside of the academic realm.”

Many students in attendances came in support of their friends, but some found themselves partaking in the festivities after hearing their favorite music being played in the distance.

Reilly Semour and her friends were one such example, and Semour told The Quadrangle that “were literally in Chrysostom Hall about to order Chinese food… [when] they heard the new Kendrick Lamar album just blasting from the Quad. We didn’t know what was going on but I definitely don’t regret coming to check it out.” Semour said this while making their way to the complimentary cupcakes and coffee table.

Although some students were unaware of the Fashion Show, Christian Bennett,

a DJ for the event and one its coordinators, along with junior Ryan Quattromani, explained that it was the culmination of months of planning.

“Last semester, we had sort of a test run in the bottom of Hayden, and everyone seemed really into it, so we got permission to organize this one. For the last six months, we all have been meeting and throwing around ideas and collaborating with MC artists. I think everyone is really happy with how it turned out,” Bennett explained.

Some of the night’s musical performances included Kelsey Quartulli’s original acoustic rendition of Britney Spears’ 2004 hit song Toxic and former Manhattan student Mereoni Rabukawaqa’s performance of both an original song and Beyoncé’s hit Drunk in Love.

“My cousin played Drunk in Love on a ukulele once, and I loved how it sounded,” Rabukawaqa explained. “I grabbed my guitar started trying different stuff out, got little experimental, and now it’s my go-to crowd pleaser.”

Also on display were hats that have seemingly become exceedingly popular with Manhattan students in recent times: Apex Hats. Usually simplistic with a box logo that features the words “petty” or “savage.” According to student Malik Grant the creator of Apex Hats, over 800 hats have been sold and his newest business venture – selling hoodies – has sold out quickly.

Regarding the Fashion Show’s impact, Grant, a graduating senior, believes that an annual spring arts event will be yet another thing for which students can look forward and added that “this could be the new thing.

This is another end of year event that MC students can hangout and bond over, and at the same time it allows the campus creatives to express themselves.”

The Quad was packed with students Saturday afternoon.

Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrangle

Three students who participated in Saturday’s fashion show. Aaron Mayorga/The Quadrangle

Arts & Entertainment

In First of its Kind Class, Students Learn and Perform “Abbey Road” Rose Brennan Assistant Editor

There are few images which are more iconic than the one adorning the cover of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album. But the music lying within the record truly cemented its place in the music history books.

This past weekend, Manhattan College performing arts students made it their mission to pay “Abbey Road” the epic tribute it deserves.

“Abbey Road” was released by The Beatles in 1969. Though their album “Let It Be” was the final album to be released, most of the songs had been recorded prior to production beginning on “Abbey Road”.

Because of this, many fans consider Abbey Road to be the true “final album” of one of the most influential music groups in history.

Before Andrew Bauer, director of performing arts, made it his mission to teach the class centering on this album. He was a lifelong fan of The Beatles, even before he conceived of the idea of having an “Abbey Road” class. Bauer considers The Beatles as a major influence on him compositionally and musically.

Inspiration for the class came to Bauer when he walked into the performing arts room in Thomas Hall and heard then-freshman student George Schlinck playing a guitar lick he quickly recognized from the album: Ringo Starr’s “Octopus’ Garden”.

“All of a sudden, ideas piled on ideas right away. It’s like composing something,” Bauer said. “I was like, you know what, I’m gonna teach a class someday, and it’s going to be called Abbey Road, and it’s going to be an in-depth study of the album and then we’ll actually play the album.”

The class stayed in production limbo for quite a few semesters but finally came to fruition during the spring semester of Schlinck’s senior year.

“I kept asking [Bauer], ‘Andy, when is this class happening?’ And he was like, ‘Eh, we’ll do it before you graduate.’ And it got to the point where I told myself, ‘This isn’t happening.’ And then last semester, he mentioned that it’s finally happening,” Schlinck said.

When the roster was finalized, the students set out to pay tribute to “Abbey Road”. The first song the group played together was “Come Together”, which was a way for Bauer to gauge the potential success of the class.

“As soon as they started playing it, I knew this class wasn’t going to flop,” Bauer said. “It sounded good right away.”

“One of the coolest things was sitting in class on the first day,” senior class member Erica Rebussini said. “Hearing the first few notes played was really cool. It was just special because we were like, ‘Wow, this is really happening.’”

Dedication was important, as the class would meet once a week for three hours: an hour for lecture, followed by two hours of music rehearsal. This time only increased as the performance date drew nearer, and rehearsal times were allotted in addition to the time in class.

But commitment was never an issue for the students or Bauer. The snowstorm that cancelled classes earlier this semester happened to fall on the day of an Abbey Road class, and Bauer decided to have it anyway.

Not a single student missed class that day.

For Bauer, the performance aspect of

this new type of music class is particularly important.

“A lot of college classes will study something, but they won’t actually do it.

They’ll look at it from an academic perspective,” Bauer said. “But to actually apply what you’ve learned about the formal structure and the harmony that you’re studying and then actually play the stuff, it gives you a deeper and more appreciative understanding of the music.”

Senior Olivia Smith noted that she was introduced to The Beatles by her parents at a young age, and has been familiar with their music for much of her life.

“I was raised, kind of, on The Beatles, but not particularly on Abbey Road. But [Here Comes the Sun] is the one song I recognize the most, because that is what I heard mostly as a child when my parents would put on Abbey Road,” said Smith.

Rebussini, like Smith, was also raised on The Beatles and influenced by her parents.

“My dad always had us listening to all different types of music, and I loved it,” Rebussini said. “As I got older, I started to put together that they were The Beatles.”

All but two of these dedicated students are members of the senior class and consider this their last major performance as a Manhattan College undergraduate.

“This is my last chance to, in a performative setting, really experience something new at the college. And it’s bittersweet, but man, what an awesome way to go out!” Schlinck said.

According to Bauer, the Abbey Road Project is part of a larger effort to make the college’s performing arts ensembles more cohesive.

“We’ve got all these great groups: we’ve got Singers, we’ve got Jazz Band, we’ve got Music Ministry. But they’re all kind of in their own worlds, and I think we need to connect them more,” Bauer said.

“And I think doing something like “Abbey Road” is one way of connecting the various groups a little bit more, like one big powerhouse organization.”

For Schlinck, however, the diversity in the performing arts department is a particular strength. He owes this, in part, to there not being a music major at the college.

“Everybody who’s in the performing arts department we know is here because they want to be here. They’re not doing it for a grade, they’re doing it for the love of it,” said Schlinck.

During Bauer had been teasing the performing arts department about the Abbey Road Project for quite some time. Advertisements began in late February, when cryptic posters simply saying “Because” were taped up on walls across campus. “Because”, of course, refers to the eighth track on “Abbey Road” by the same name.

Bauer wasn’t the only one leading the campus on, though. Schlinck also dropped hints regarding the upcoming performance at a February coffee house event in Jasper Hall’s lounge.

As the show drew ever closer, advertisements became more explicit. Toward the end of April, posters advertising the event and its times were posted throughout campus as well. The posters in question featured the members of the class walking through a crosswalk in the very same manner the Beatles did on the cover of the album. The posters also featured a “Snapcode” which allowed students to reserve free tickets via Snapchat.

The idea was clearly a hit, because a

13

Matthew LeBeouf sings during the performance.

The performance was held in the Black Box in Thomas Hall.

Aaron Mayorga/ The Quadrangle few days before opening night, another paper was taped on top of the posters throughout Thomas Hall. These papers only had two words written in capital red letters: SOLD OUT. Following the success of their opening night, Jaspers and family members alike piled into the Black Box Theater in Thomas Hall on Saturday night to see what would truly be a stunning performance.

The show was, in the words of Bauer, the “final exam” for the Abbey Road Project class. If that statement was true, the class definitely scored an “A”, if the standing ovation following the performance was any indicator.

The album was played note for note with no intermission, and the audience absolutely loved every minute. Though the room was pitch black, the lights from the stage illuminated the faces of the audience, who could be seen mouthing the words to the songs the students were singing.

The true showstoppers of the evening were Tommy Leo’s cover of George Harrison’s “Something”, and Schlinck’s cover of Lennon and McCartney’s “Oh, Darling!”

Schlinck particularly enjoyed this portion of the performance because he was allowed to put down the guitar and put his heart and soul into belting the song out with the same passion as Paul McCartney, After the last notes of “Her Majesty”, the final song on “Abbey Road”, were played, the audience cheered wildly, getting to their feet and yelling the names of members of the band.

“One more song! One more song!” the audience yelled.

Even though the band members had exited the room, Bauer obliged the audience and called his students back up to the stage for an encore. They immediately launched into an extremely well-known song of The Beatles: “All You Need is Love”.

Following their encore, the audience cheered as Bauer introduced the members of the band, noticeably skipping over Leo. Bauer returned to him and made an announcement: it was Leo’s birthday. Upon making this comment, the band immediately launched into the song “Birthday”. It seemed that the audience knew this song too, as everyone screamed the lyrics along with the band.

The night was clearly unforgettable for Leo, as well as everyone else in attendance.

After The Abbey Road Project class was the first of its kind at the college, but Bauer foresees classes similar to it in the future.

Possible future projects could include Carole King’s “Tapestry” and the iconic jazz album “Some Kind of Blue”.

But for Bauer, it was wise to begin with “Abbey Road” because of its continued influence and instant recognizability in the realm of the performing arts.

“This music is so important in our time.

This music has influenced so much else in the music world,” Bauer said. “It’s going to survive the tests of time. I think 200 years from now, people will still be listening to those songs.”

“The Beatles will always be relevant,” Rebussini said. “So much of what we sing, even in Music Ministry, is influenced by The Beatles.”

sports

14

May 10, 2016

Lacrosse Captain Matt Garvey Plays Final Game Kelly Burns Senior Writer

Men’s lacrosse captain, Matt Garvey, just played his last game as a Jasper. During his time at Manhattan College, Garvey has been a standout athlete and an invaluable teammate. Looking back on his college career, Garvey is confident that being a Division 1 athlete and captain of the team has made him mature. On Friday, April 28th, Garvey walked off the field knowing that this experience has changed for the better and confident that the lacrosse program is in good hands.

You just played your last game as D1 lacrosse player for Manhattan College.

What’s going through your mind?

It’s very surreal. I love playing lacrosse; I’ve been playing since I was very young, so after that last whistle it was kinda tough. A lot of memories, good and bad were going through my head. It was crazy walking off the field for the last time but it was a good experience all in all so I’m very happy with it.

Any stand out moments or favorite memories from your lacrosse career?

Stand out moments? For me personally I think were the two wins this season against Hartford and Wagner. Both were in overtime, the Wagner was triple over time, it was very hectic but personally I played two of my better games. I had a hat trick in both of those games and it was also just really good to beat those teams because Wagner had beaten us last year and same with Hartford. The best moment was definitely last year when we beat Marist. Our whole team came together, we weren’t playing very well and that one day we just clicked and we were firing on all cylinders. We played our best game of the year and probably the best game I’ve ever been a part of

at Manhattan College.

How was your experience being a captain for a D1 lacrosse team?

Being a captain for Coach Kelleher was kinda tough because he holds us to a higher standard, which he should, but it was a very good experience. I learned a lot from it especially looking back from when I first started to now, I’ve grown up a lot.

I’ve definitely matured a lot through it all.

My coach has said that to me as well. It was a great experience and I’m very happy with how I handled it and how the other four captains handled it because we’ve put the team first in all aspects and we showed that this program is definitely going in the right direction.

Do you have any plans to continue playing lacrosse?

Very competitive lacrosse is just a college thing. I’m not going to enter into the MLL draft, unfortunately but I will definitely be playing in a few summer leagues and definitely summer tournaments. Those are the main lacrosse events that will be going on in my life now. I will also be coaching this summer for youth teams back in New Jersey. So I’ll be coaching and spreading what I love to the younger kids.

Any final remarks?

I would personally like to thank my three coaches, Coach Hodgson, Coach Odierna, and Coach Kelleher, for really changing who I am as a person, especially for the better. Two years ago when they first took the job, I was a little different of a human being, a little bit more off the wall and crazy. I’ve definitely turned it around and matured a lot and I credit them for that. I would also like to thank everyone I’ve played with and the four kids that I’ve played with for the past four years; Gian

Matt Garvey states that his lacrosse experience has changed him for the better.

GoJaspers/ Courtesy Noto, Frank Merrill, Connor Flannery, and Alex Abiog because we’ve been through a lot together as a team and just as students at Manhattan College. It’s also really good to see that the program is going in the right direction underneath the coaching staff. We didn’t always get the wins that we wanted but we had a lot of fun doing it and we always stuck together through it all. Those are four of my best friends that I’ll have

for the rest of my life along with the other guys.

One last note…

I would like to thank my little brother for playing defense because he always pushed me to do better on the offensive side of the ball. Also, big shout out to my mom for putting up with all my antics and for being there for me all the time. She’s the rock in my life and I love her to death.

#QuadByYou

• Have a comment on an article or piece of news?

• Want to share your picture of an event on campus?

• Got a news tip or story idea?

LET US KNOW! Get our attention. Get it trending. #QuadByYou.

sports

15

Track & Field Rookie Anuoluwapo Awonusi

JASPERS TALK

Alyssa Velazquez Editor

Born and raised in Carlow, Ireland, freshman Anuoluwapo Awonusi would have never picture himself to participating in Track & Field at college in New York City. Anuoluwapo, more commonly known by his nickname “Anu”, is both a shot-putter and a discus thrower at Manhattan College.

Being at the college for only one semester, there is no telling what Anu can do within the next three years of his college career.

The Quadrangle: When did you start participating in track and field?

Anuoluwapo Awonusi: About a year ago, this will be my first full year. I did it [Track and Field] just for the summer before, so for like two or three months every year.

TQ: When did you come over from Ireland?

AA: I’ve been here on holiday once, I was here on holiday last summer, the summer of 2015 and I was here for three weeks.

I’ve only been here four moths, started the semester in January and I’ll be here as a permanent student.

TQ: Do you have someone you look up to, like a role model?

AA: It’s still quite new to me so not really, I don’t have anyone that I aspire to be like yet.

TQ: Do you have any pregame rituals?

AA: I say a lot of prayer before I got to bed and when I wake up. Other than that I don’t really have any pregame rituals.

TQ: What made you choose track and field?

AA: I think it was the fact that I was decent at it without having to put too much effort. I only kinda really did it for fun and I was decent at it so I thought I might as well give it a try professionally and see, but I actually do enjoy it now.

TQ: What are your goals for the next season?

AA: For next season I really want to place in the MAAC championship or conference. That would be the aim, to place in those.

NAME: ANUOLUWAPO AWONUSI YEAR: FRESHMAN SPORT: TRACK & FIELD HOME TOWN: CARLOW, IRELAND Anuoluwapo Awonusi, a native of Ireland, never thought he would be running track in New York City.

WHAT’S UP THIS WEEK SPRING 2017 BASEBALL MAY 6TH BASEBALL VS. QUINNIPIAC @ WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY 2:00/5:00 PM MAY 7TH BASEBALL VS. QUINNIPIAC @ WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY 2:00 PM

SOFTBALL MAY 6TH SOFTBALL VS. QUINNIPIAC @ HAMDEN, CT 12:00/2:00

MENS TRACK MAY 6TH/7TH MAAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS @ LAWRENCEVILLE NJ TBA

WOMENS TRACK MAY 6TH/7TH MAAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS @ LAWRENCEVILLE NJ TBA

MAY 7TH SOFTBALL VS. IONA @ NEW ROCHELLE, NY 12:00/2:00

DESIGNED BY RIKKILYNN SHIELDS

THE QUADRANGLE • mcquad.org • @MCQUAD

Sports

16

Reilly’s Inaugural Year as Manhattan College’s Athletic Director Ally Hutzler Editor

Marianne Reilly’s first year at the helm of Manhattan College athletics has seen record-breaking individual performances and the hiring of four accomplished new head coaches, but was also marked with some disappointing team performances.

“There’s been some days where it’s like drinking out of a fire hose, sometimes two fire hoses, and you wonder how you are going to be able to handle it all but we manage,” Reilly said.

The Jasper turned Fordham Ram returned to Riverdale in the spring of 2016 as the college’s new athletic director, a position previously held by Noah LeFevre whose quick abandonment of the post resulted in a four-month interim period manned by Tom O’Connor.

Under O’Connor’s guidance, the search for Manhattan’s new athletic director resulted in Reilly, ’82, who had been a part of one of the first women’s basketball teams and was the first female hall of fame inductee.

She spent 30 years at Fordham University before making the move back to Manhattan last March.

“We have a really good staff and good coaches. They make it special, they make it fun, they make it tolerable when the day is difficult,” Reilly said. “The student-athletes inspire me everyday. What a bunch,” Reilly said.

FEMALE COACHES AMONG NEW HIRES Reilly is the first female athletic director in the college’s history, and only the third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Coincidentally, she has also hired four female head coaches to lead the women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, cross country and volleyball teams.

“We are a part of organizations that recruit female coaches and mentor female coaches. So we always let those organizations know that we have vacancies,” Reilly said. “It was never my intent to say ‘I am hiring a female for this position’ it is always ‘I am going to hire the most qualified person for this position.’”

While it may not have been intentional to hire four female coaches, it does stand out when women fill less than 40 percent of head coaching positions available across all NCAA Division I sports.

“If it’s a female, it’s going to be awesome to have that extra bonus because I think that it is important for women to see other women in leadership positions,” Reilly said.

Heather Vulin, head coach of the women’s basketball squad, joined the Jaspers late last spring, less than 30 days after Reilly was anointed athletic director. Her first season ended with an 8-22 record, a considerable bump from the previous season’s 15 wins.

Even with a less than stellar team per-

formance, the squad had notable individual achievements, including Kayla Grimme earning Third Team All-MAAC honors.

Another positive sign for the team is that they will only be losing one senior and should return next season with considerable depth.

In an interview with The Quadrangle at the end of the season, Vulin stated that “My goal with this year was just to really get our culture up and make sure we’re committed to doing things the right way.”

Another one of Reilly’s new hires was professional runner Kerri Gallagher, who was brought to college in September to lead both the men’s and women’s cross country teams.

Gallagher brought a considerable buzz to the athletic department, as she has ran in three U.S. Championships and has competed in the U.S. Olympic trials. Gallagher was just recently inducted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame.

Under Gallagher’s guidance the men’s cross country team won their first Metropolitan Championship since 2001 and the women’s squad finished two places better at the MAAC championship than they had year before.

Bringing in so many new faces, while still being new to the department itself, proved to be a challenge for Reilly. For many of the new coaches this is their first experiences coaching at the division I level.

“I can’t meet with my coaches as often as I’d like,” Reilly said. “But maybe after I get this machine running a little bit smoother I’ll be able to do that. That’s the only thing I wish I had a little bit more time to have done.”

ATHLETES SHINED BUT TEAMS STRUGGLED This year student-athletes shattered school records and received MAAC honors.

Zavier Turner set a school record for most free-throws made. Erica Modena earned her third-straight All-MAAC honor and had a chance to be on the few fouryear honorees in school history next year.

Women’s swimming and diving set a new high for points earned at the MAAC championship.

While individual performances skyrocketed this year, team performances struggled both in overall records and within the MAAC itself.

“I’m pleased with the individual performances,” Reilly said. “Sometimes when I look at the overall records sometimes I go ‘oh.’”

Along with women’s basketball’s losing record, men’s basketball also had a tough season finishing with a record of 10-22 overall and just 5-15 in the MAAC. They ended the season in a heartbreaking loss to Rider University in the opening round of the MAAC championship.

“That was a little bit of a disappointment,” Reilly said. “We have everybody

Marianne Reilly concludes her first year as an Atheltic Director at Manhattan College.

Manhattan College/ Courtesy coming back next year and then some, so I think we should be a much better performing team next year. ...I think we have made some improvements in other areas that you might not see on the court.”

A few notable exceptions to this trend is the softball team, whose performance has been so strong that they went on a game winning streak that only allowed two losses in 16 games. The golf team also performed well this year and placed third at the MAAC championship a few weeks ago.

“I wanted everybody to do their thing this year and let’s see where it falls and now we can have a conversation about how we can make this a little bit better next year,” Reilly said.

NEW FACILITIES While at Fordham, Reilly oversaw the renovations of all seven of the Ram’s facilities for intercollegiate athletics. When asked if the same kind of project could be done at Manhattan, a campus with about 60 less acres of land to work with, Reilly was surprisingly optimistic.

“Can we do some special things here, absolutely,” she said. “We are going to roll out a couple things soon about what we are doing to improve some of our facilities.”

New York City’s regulations and lack of community support has already proved difficult for Manhattan athletics to expand

its reach. Bringing men’s baseball back to Riverdale was something that Reilly wanted to accomplish swiftly, but has proved to be more challenging than expected.

“I guess I was a little naive, I thought ‘wow we can turn this around pretty quickly’ but when you are dealing with the New York City parks department there is a lot of red tape,” she said.

LOOKING AHEAD: 2017-2018 With her inaugural year under her belt and the semester coming to a close, Reilly is looking forward to the summer months as a time to rebuild and restructure within the department.

“One thing that I want to go forward with is a young alumni group,” Reilly said.

“I wanted to do that this year but there is no way that I could have done it and done it well.”

Reilly wants to focus on and build up the group of alumni who are just one-tofive years out of college. She would like to continue to have them engage in the department and not let them drift away.

Reilly is looking forward to evaluating this past year, and creating an outline of what went well and what can be improved in the upcoming seasons.

“I am a high-achiever. If we’re at 70 percent I want to be at 80,” Reilly said. “No matter how old you are the day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.”