the Quadrangle THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume XCVII, Issue 2
www.mcquad.org
JANUARY 30, 2018
Early Work Begins on South Campus Transformation Stephen Zubrycky Managing Editor
Construction located in the parking lot of the Leo Engineering Building. This is the first phase of the campus expansion that will be taking place over the next few years. STEPHEN ZUBRYCKY / THE QUADRANGLE
Plans to change the face of Manhattan College’s south campus are beginning to materialize. Work in Leo Engineering Building has already begun – including the installation of conduits that will house a new fire alarm system and the addition of office space on the third and first floors. A large section of the parking lot – straddling Tibbett Avenue along the west side of the lot – has been closed off to make way for the demolition of the building’s chimney. Vice President of Facilities Andrew Ryan estimated that work on the chimney would begin by the end of this week. “[The] contract is awarded. [We are] waiting on the permit,” Ryan said last week. “Once we get started on it, that should go pretty quickly.” The chimney currently
stands in the way of what will be billed as the Higgins Engineering & Science Center, named for Patricia and Cornelius Higgins ’62. Slated to open in 2020, the new Higgins center will be dedicated exclusively to laboratory space, and will house labs for the biology, chemistry, physics, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering departments. Currently, the college is working through the preconstruction phase of the project with Pavarini Northeast Construction. According to previous reporting from The Quadrangle, Pavarini was the general contractor for several other of the college’s large con__________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Screw Found in Kelly Commons Marketplace Wrap Gabriella DePinho Editor
This past Thursday, Jan. 25, a Manhattan College student found a small screw in their wrap, both the student and Gourmet Dining Services confirmed. Leah McGovern, a junior civil engineering major at Manhattan College, discovered this screw at the Kelly Commons Marketplace. “I typically buy a wrap for lunch there every weekday day because I have meal swipes through my meal plan when I have class down in the Leo building. The food is always very enjoyable,” said McGovern. McGovern said she was about to start eating the second half of her wrap when she noticed the screw in the middle of it. Upon finding the screw, she told the staff in Kelly Commons. “Management and the
gourmet dining employees were all very good and apologetic to me,” said McGovern, “Brian Weinstein, the head of Gourmet Dining, personally apologized to me and gave me a few free meal cards and three free starbucks drink cards.” Brian Weinstein, the head of Gourmet Dining on Manhattan College’s campus, was made aware of the situation and there is now an ongoing investigation of the instance. “All the information is gathered and we attempt to isolate how, why, when, and how we can prevent this from happening again,” said Weinstein. Weinstein confirmed that the school’s produce comes through a string of local vendors through J Kings and the produce vendor is checking local facilities and local suppliers for any other possible foreign objects. Weinstein said, “We believe it may have come in one of our pre-packaged lettuce bags. We are addressing this potential
IN FEATURES: Model UN stuStudent government election sea- dents represent son on the horizon MC in the Galapagos on p. 7 on p. 4
IN NEWS:
with our suppliers and have increased our staff process on how thoroughly they wash and scan the produce.” Weinstein identifies this situation as an isolated instance. “We serve over 4 thousand meals daily across campus and this is the first situation like this to occur under my watch,” said Weinstein, “You can be sure that we will continue to be vigilant so situations like these are an isolated incident.” McGovern also believes this was an isolated instance. “I thought I would be hesitant about going back, but I ended up going back for lunch the next day. I’m not worried about it happening again,” said McGovern, “I still trust the food at Manhattan College.” Despite the instance, Weinstein confirmed that Gourmet Dining Services will continue to be dedicated to putting together quality services for the MC community. “Gourmet Dining takes food safety very seriously. We
IN A&E:
Scatterbomb’s first show of the semester on p. 9
McGovern said she was about to start eating the second half of her wrap when she noticed the screw in the middle of it. LEAH MCGOVERN SNAPCHAT / COURTESY
strive to make every meal a memorable one and incidents like these should never happen,” said Weinstein. “While such incidents are rare each
one is unacceptable and we hold our staff and suppliers accountable as we are to Manhattan College and our customers.”
IN SPORTS:
Men’s basketball vs. Iona at the Nassau Coliseum on p. 12
Opinion & Editorials
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the Quadrangle Volume XCVII, Issue 2
NOT ES FROM
The Editor
JANUARY 30, 2018
The Editorial Board
Taylor Brethauer Editor-in-Chief Stephen Zubrycky Managing Editor Jack Melanson News Editor
Haley Burnside Joseph Liggio Asst. News Editors
Megan Dreher Features Editor
Lauren Schuster Asst. Features Editor
Rose Brennan Arts & Entertainment Editor Managing Editor
Alexa Schmidt Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor
John Jackson Sports Editor
C. Garrett Keidel Asst. Sports Editor
RikkiLynn Shields Catherine Goodyear Social Media Editors
Anja Pollozi Photography Editor
Alyssa Velazquez Production Editor
Samantha Walla Asst. Production Editor
Gabriella DePinho Michevi Dufflart Web Editors
Mohsin Ahmed Shannon Gleba Copy Editors
Abby Crowell Distribution Manager Thomas Callahan Faculty Advisor About The Quadrangle 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 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.
Join The Quadrangle The Quadrangle’s staff holds weekly open meetings on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Kelly Commons Room 412. All are welcome to come and join the club. Connect with The Quadrangle
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Dear Reader, You might’ve noticed in my letter from last week that I mentioned the Quadrangle’s office has moved. Allow this week’s letter to serve as a formal announcement about this event: the Quadrangle’s office has moved! We were notified mid-semester this past fall about Marilyn Carter, the newly appointed director of commuter services and outreach, would be moving into our old location on the second floor of the Kelly Commons in order for her office to be an easily accessible space for commuter students. At this point, we were given two options: stay in the Kelly Commons and relocate or move back to the basement of Overlook Manor where the newspaper previously resided before the completion of Kelly. This soon led to many meetings with members of the administration, talks with our staff and adviser, and the seemingly un-ending search to find a new home for the student newspaper. To be frank, the student newspaper did not need to be moved off campus to the Overlook location. My biggest concern was visibility of our important publication. Many of our staff writers conducted their interviews in our office and I personally enjoyed the Kelly location because of it’s central location on the Manhattan College campus. This is why I was very grateful when John Bennett offered us a location in the club meeting room, in a tinier but convenient space called “club meeting room A”. I was also very appreciative of the way the administration worked with us during this situation in order for everyone to be happy involved during this move. The Quadrangle needs to be accessible to the student body, just like Marilyn Carter needs to be accessible to commuter students. I’m extremely glad this all worked out for the best!
Sincerely,
Taylor Brethauer
Editor-in-Chief
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CORRECT IONS
@the_quadrangle
In the article “Students and Faculty Participate in NYC’s Second Annual Women’s March”, a student’s name was incorrectly printed as “Sydney Kudoka.” The student’s name is Sydney Kukoda.
mcquad
In the article “Student Life Directors Introduce #JasperFoodShare”, the hashtag is meant to be #JaspersFoodShare.
News
JANUARY 30, 2018
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Early Work Begins on South Campus Transformation __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 struction ventures, including the Broadway Garage, Lee Hall and Kelly Commons. Right now, the college remains in the permitting process, and is expecting to break ground on Higgins in March, which will result in the complete and permanent closure of the Leo parking lot. With construction just weeks away, Leo Engineering Building is bracing for the inevitable disruptions that come with construction, and making way for some permanent changes to the layout. New offices are being added to the first and third floors of Leo, to provide space for displaced faculty members of the civil and environmental engineering department. The department’s present third floor suite, which extends nearly the full length of Leo’s southern face, will be cut in half to accommodate the new walkway between Leo and Higgins. “That’s a real checker game. I guess it’s about 10 or 11 spaces in that area that needed to get cleared out,” Ryan said. “And in order to do that we have a real checker game going on.” “We worked with Andy Ryan to develop this plan of where our offices would be and where our new offices would be,” said Robert R. Sharp,
Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering. “We’re having a say, which I think is important,” Sharp added. The college’s plans remain fluid, with the initial idea for an underground parking structure beneath Higgins being eliminated. In addition, the reconstruction of Leo’s western façade has been shifted out of the first round of work to be done on south campus. “[The new facade is] still in the plan, but not at this stage,” Tim Ward, Dean of the School Engineering, said. “The money for the façade and the northwest corner, we think, would be more effectively spent to start doing some of the internal remodeling of Leo,” Ward said. The internal remodeling Ward mentioned includes the renovations of numerous labs on the first floor – including the materials, concrete and hydraulic labs – as well chemical engineering labs on the fourth floor. According to Ward, those renovations are scheduled for this summer. But the plan remains a long term one. Ward estimates that all the elements of the college’s master plan for south campus will not come to fruition until about 2025. These include, not only the Higgins center, but a new resi-
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dence hall and green space near the present site of the Robert A. Mahan Physical Plant Complex, and more renovations to spaces in Leo and the adjacent Research and Learning Center. According to Ryan, Manhattan College is currently pursuing a change to the zoning regulations or a zoning variance to construct a new residence hall near Mahan. While earlier plans called for the elimination of Mahan, the former physical plant headquarters is finding its niche on south campus. “We’re going to have some space in [Mahan] for an asphalt lab,” Ward said, also adding that Mahan will soon house locker rooms for athletes who use nearby Gaelic Park. The college is also awaiting permits to demolish smaller buildings on the lot, including the former Riverdale Auto Body Shop. “We are in the very early stages of demolishing the buildings that we own except for the Physical Plant,” Ryan said. “That process takes almost six months just to get the permits.” The residence hall will be further down the road as Manhattan makes the Higgins Center its chief priority. Ryan estimated that the processing time for the zoning change or variance the college would need is about one or two years.
Slated to open in 2020, the new Higgins center will be dedicated exclusively to laboratory space. STEPHEN ZUBRYCKY/THE QUADRANGLE
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THE QUADRANGLE
First Student Assembly Meeting for the Spring Semester Alyssa Velazquez Editor
Manhattan College’s Student Government held their first Student Assembly meeting of the semester this past Wednesday, Jan. 24. Discussions during this meeting ranged from the college’s new hashtag, #JaspersFoodShare, the new campus life channel and plans for senior week. The meeting commenced with the swearing-in of new members of the student court that was supposed to take place during the past fall semester, but was pushed to this past week. Following the swearingin of the new members, Executive Vice President Phillip Mourikes turned the discussion to the clearing of parking tickets for MC students by means other than payment. Mourikes addressed the issue of students receiving a large number of parking tickets to the point where it becomes a financial burden. A possible solution to be discussed amongst the student court is to allow students to participate in community service in order to alleviate the burden of paying off parking tickets. As the meeting continued,
the Budget Allocation Committee decided the amount of money that would be allocated to two clubs for the conferences they have partaken in or will attend in the future. Despite the varying ask prices, both the Manhattan College Players and Beta Alpha Psi were given the same amount of $1,200. Later on in the assembly meeting, Vice President of Residential Affairs, Patrick Estanbouli, discussed the progress of the petitions that were created in hopes of speeding up the replacement of the elevators in the residential buildings located on main campus, such as Horan Hall. Currently, it will take about three to five years to replace the elevators. Estanbouli said that the purpose of “the petition was to move up the replacement… We’re trying to get that within the next year, possibly, maximum, two years.” According to Estanbouli, the petition has been sent to the President’s office and is being processed by President Brennan O’Donnell. In addition to discussing the elevator replacements for the on-campus residential halls, Estanbouli also discussed the addition of a new channel that students will be able to access on their television to aid in the promotion of on-campus events. The Campus Life Channel
Manhattan College’s Student Government discussed #JaspersFoodShare, the new campus life channel and plans for Senior Week on Jan. 24. STEPHEN ZUBRYCKY/ THE QUADRANGLE will provide students with information about what will be happening on campus and give students an inside look at the lives of their fellow peers by having student highlights to create a more inclusive community at MC. As the meeting progressed, it was noted that there is an open position on the assembly for the School of Business Representative. Two students, Samitheus Savinon and Ryan Kwiecinski, were both interested in this position and were given the opportunity to share why they would like to become
a representative for the School of Business. The decision to vote for the School of Business representative has been moved to the next assembly meeting on Feb. 7, in accordance to the Student Assembly Constitution. Towards the end of the meeting, potential plans for senior week were mentioned. One arrangement brought up by Alannah Boyle, was that part of the senior week budget could be allocated to the hiring of off-duty NYPD officers in order to ensure the safety of students throughout the week’s
festivities. Having discussed important topics that will be brought up again in the future, Bishop adjourned the informative student assembly meeting. The next meeting will be Feb. 7, at 12pm in Kelly Commons room 5A.
Student Government Race To Begin in March Rose Brennan Editor
The spring semester is a busy time for Manhattan College. One event of particular interest is the student government election, which is set to get underway in mid-March. The elections are overseen by the Office of Student Engagement, who believe that the role of the school’s student government is extremely valuable and important in decisionmaking processes. “[Student government has] so much power and say over what the actual year looks like for the student body and sometimes I think the entire community is not aware of that,” said John Bennett, director of student development. “All the big events, from Quadchella to the spring concert to Broadway plays...to lecture series, they have a say.” He continued. “We’re leaving it in the
hands of this [executive] board in particular to really be the voice of the students and make those decisions for the student body,” Bennett said. “They’re on a number of different committees that have actual change, where you see things about commuter meal plans, different policies on campus. Their opinions do matter.” “They basically keep us in the know of what students want on campus,” said Michael Steele, assistant director of student engagement. Student government elections are unusual from other events in the sense that they are planned “backwards.” The first event to be planned is the annual Inaugural Dinner, in which the victors of the election are officially installed into their new positions. The rest of the dates of interest are then planned in relation to that event, which is scheduled for April 11. Steele then elaborated on other important dates dur-
ing the election season, which were planned in relation to the Inaugural Dinner. The election process itself officially begins on March 19, in which application packets and petitions become available for potential candidates. Candidates must submit the completed packets to the Office of Student Engagement by March 23. Between these two dates, an information session for potential candidates is held by Student Engagement. This year, the session will be held on March 20. Following the submission and acceptance of the application packets, candidates and their political parties campaign for office from March 23 to March 29. During this period, a debate among the presidential candidates will be held for the students on March 27. The online ballot becomes available to students on March 29, and will remain open until the following day, March 30.
The winners of the election are announced shortly after. The election process will culminate on April 11, with the inauguration of the presidentelect and his or her executive board at the Inaugural Dinner. Micaela Bishop and Philip Mourikes, current student body president and executive vice president, were elected for the 2017-2018 school year last spring. Their entire party, known as the Jasper Pack, swept the executive board elections as well. Bishop was involved with student government from the beginning of her time at the college. “After such great experience in my role as Vice President of Commuters, it became very apparent to me that I had many goals and changes that I wanted to make,” she said. “Working under Dorian [Persaud] and a great team junior year encouraged me to keep the momentum going.” Bishop also felt that what
really put her Jasper Pack team over the top was their commitment to teamwork. “We ran together, with no special interests but getting every single one of us at the table,” she said. “The bond that we worked towards, helped spread the word.” According to Bennett and Steele, membership in student government can be a great gateway into participation in and leadership of other clubs on campus. “If anyone that’s interested in becoming a student leader on campus, this is a great first step,” Steele said. While the dedication and responsibility of a position in student government might seem daunting to some, Bennett and Steele encourage students to apply regardless of their hesitation. “It’s not as intimidating as it probably sounds on paper,” Bennett said. “If somebody has an interest in it, we definitely suggest that they run for it.”
News
JANUARY 30, 2018
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“Black Sludge” Still Plaguing Campus Washing Machines Joe Liggio Asst. Editor
For some resident students, whether or not their clothes leave the washing machine dirtier than they went has become a crapshoot. Dark streaks of unknown origin have been appearing on students’ items post-wash from time to time, a phenomenon occasionally referred to as “black sludge.” The problem has been observed throughout campus residence halls as early as last year, but seems to occur most frequently in Horan Hall. The black-brown stains are easy to spot on otherwise clean clothes and do not easily come out in subsequent washes. Area Coordinator for Horan Hall Ryan Bunts offered a possible explanation as to how the stains are caused. “It was eventually found that when students put items into the machines that are excessively dirty (i.e. shoes or athletic cleats), they can leave residue in the rubber outer lining of the machine, “ said Bunts via email. “Housekeeping has since been treating this by cleaning that area with Lysol wipes which treats the problem unless excessively dirty items are placed in the machine again.” Campus washing machines are serviced by Fowler, a commercial laundry equipment company that supplies different clients ranging from coin-operated laundromats to apartment complexes and school dormitories, according to the company’s website. Bunts explained that while Fowler is responsible for maintenance of the machines, housekeeping staff handles cleaning them, and does so “a few times a week.” The situation is familiar to many students, to the point where it has already become the subject of parody by some on campus. Senior Cameron Cullen, host and writer of the Manhattan College TV series “Cam’s Corner,” provided one such example as he addressed the “black sludge” problem in the November edition of his web series, now in it’s second season. “One of our main segments on the show is Cam’s Call,
[where] we investigate something that is ‘getting under my skin on campus,’ so we looked at the weight room scene,” said Cullen, referring to an earlier part of the episode addressing deadlifting restrictions in the Fitness Center. “We ran into people who were familiar with the show, fans I guess, and they pretty much said ‘Hey, you guys should definitely do a spot on the black sludge situation in Horan Hall.’ So we were able to swing that and kinda do a special report.” The report featured “Ex-
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“It seems like a pretty major issue, and it’s not something that can be fixed in a day or two,” said Cullen. I think it’s an issue that definitely needs to be figured out because we desrve better than this.”
Horan Hall washing machines leave students with “black sludge”on otherwise clean clothes. JOE LIGGIO/THE QUADRANGLE
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pert Field Expert” Kry$ Ventura, (played by senior Christian Bennett), braving the dank conditions of a decrepit Horan laundry room and pointing out “black sludge” build up with a flashlight before being overcome by CGI fumes. Suggesting that the sludge was an aftereffect of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Ventura warns students to remain wary of the source of “some of the most disgusting and repugnant substances to ever grace this campus.” Cullen, who is also a Resident Assistant in Lee Hall, has not observed the same issue of “black sludge” occurring in his own building, but points out that some washers and dryers in Lee are in need of repair, and that it doesn’t appear Fowler representatives are consistent when it comes to servicing machines. Ultimately, he acknowledges that most problems with the machines are out of Resi-
Character Kry$ Ventura (played by senior Christian Bennett) investigates the machines in a recent episode of “Cam’s Corner”, the YouTube series hosted by Cullen. CAM’S CORNER, NOVEMBER EPISODE / COURTESY dence Life’s hands. “It seems like a pretty major issue, and it’s not something that can be fixed in a day or two,” said Cullen. “I think it’s an issue that definitely needs to be figured out because we deserve better than this.” The Quadrangle found that some degree of mildew buildup was present in all washing machines in Horan. Comparing pictures taken of the grime build up at the end of the Fall semester to pictures taken following the start of the Spring
semester revealed no apparent decrease in the level of this mildew over Winter Intersession. The build up occurs in the same recess of the rubber liner that sits between the washer’s door and tub. Ultimately, Bunts points out that students are an important factor in keeping the machines clean. “There are two ways that students can help us solve this issue - rinse any muddy or excessively dirty items before placing them in the machines
(and not putting shoes in at all), and filling out a housekeeping work order [online] if there is an issue stating specifically which machines caused the problem. We always want to help with these issues and will address them immediately when they are brought to our attention.” Housekeeping work orders can be submitted at manhattan. edu/repair
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THE QUADRANGLE
Theresa Watts Explores Colonialism, Holocaust, Religion and More Jack Melanson Editor
Theresa Watts is both a religious studies and international studies major, with a concentration in Africa and the Middle East. She plans to graduate in May of 2018. As this date is quickly approaching, Watts continues to work on her passion project, which is also conveniently her honors thesis. More specifically, Watts plans to research and report the role that Arabs had during the Holocaust, while paying particular attention to Arabs in North Africa. “I was really interested in the way that religion functioned in communities,” she said. “I have a passion for human rights, and I always felt that religion is a huge part of human rights.” Mehnaz Afridi, associate professor at Manhattan College, is helping her along the way. “Dr.Afridi’s guidance and expertise has been invaluable
in developing this project and also in exploring post-graduation options,” Watts said. Furthermore, Watts was drawn to this topic due to it being rather unexplored. “I was really interested in Muslims during the Holocaust because I felt like they had never really been discussed,” she said. “I am specifically interested in the way that colonialism played a role in the Holocaust.” The senior then discussed some of what she felt were her most interesting findings, yet she still craves to learn more. “North Africa was a very unexplored area during the Holocaust but it was also very vital,” she said. “I’m really interested in contributing and learning more about a field that is so unexplored. I think that most people focus on Europe when it comes to the Holocaust, so I’m interested to see more about how North Africa played a role.” Watts feels that colonialism plays an increasingly large role in her research. “I think that colonialism has had a great influence on Africa
as a whole. North Africa is still majority Muslim, not a lot of people have converted to Christianity, which isn’t the case in West Africa, where Christianity is now a prominent religion,” she said. “I’m interested in how colonialism has interacted with religion, It’s been very turbulent.” She continues while her genuine interest soars. “I’ve always focused on colonialism in my studies, and I’ve always felt like it was something that we learn about in school, but we never quite understand the full impact that colonialism has had on the African Continent.” Colonialism was an overarching influence in this realm of study, according to Watts. “I’m most interested in the colonial approach: How colonialism influenced Muslims in their countries, and how it has been an overarching influence over the way that they act.” Dr. Afridi continues to inspire Watts, while her passion for unveiling uncommon ground only heightens. Throughout her research,
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“I’m really interested in contributing and learning more about a field that is so unexplored. I think that most people focus on Europe when it comes to the Holocaust, so I’m interested to see more about how North Africa played a role,” says Watts. __________________________
Watts is considering to go to graduate school to study human rights and partake in more inter religious discussions. THERESA WATTS/COURTESY the senior remains stunned by a few truths and the lack of scholarship available that pertains to this topic. “I feel like I’m always shocked by the impact that colonialism has had on communities around the world, and a lot of scholarship isn’t including that,” she said. “I feel like colonialism is a deciding factor towards how Muslims treated Jews.” After she graduates from Manhattan this spring, Watts plans to continue her focus on human rights, whether that be
in the classroom or elsewhere. “I’m thinking about going to grad school, and I would like to go into human rights and work in an organization that participates in inter religious dialogue between communities that are experiencing post war,” she said. “That’s my ultimate hope, but I also think that I want to teach at a college level in human rights in ways that relate to religion.”
Engineers Without Borders
Organization Works Toward Living out the Lasallian Values Shannon Gleba Editor
Many organizations at Manhattan College work towards living out the five core Lasallian principles, and MC’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders is no exception. EWB is a national organization founded in 2002 by professor Bernard Amadei, Ph.D, of the University of Colorado Boulder. Amadei assessed the need for a reliable water supply system in a Belizean jungle village, and along with 14 students installed a working water supply system, starting the organization. Since then, Engineers Without Borders has grown exponentially, with 16,820 members working on 698 different projects worldwide, all to empower disadvantaged communities to achieve basic human
needs. These projects include constructing buildings, bridges and other structures that help underprivileged people receive necessary resources. Manhattan College first established its own chapter of the organization in 2011, allowing students to work towards a major objective of the School of Engineering, a commitment to engineering as a service-tohumanity profession. One year later, in 2012, the chapter’s application was accepted and they were awarded a project in Mbiribua, Cameroon. Julianna Widlund, EWB’s vice president said, “There is a village in Cameroon that is in need of a pedestrian footbridge. During the rainy season the river gets too high and it becomes dangerous to even try and cross the river. Their only form of trade, however, is across that river, so if they can-
not cross it they cannot sustain economic balance. Our goal is to raise money to implement this footbridge.” In addition to working on the project on campus, students were also able to travel to Cameroon in March 2014 for an assessment trip. “During this trip, we determined that is feasible to construct the bridge. Members of our chapter surveyed the proposed site and performed a preliminary geotechnical investigation. The students that traveled were: David Pecorini (Civil Engineering BS ‘13 and MS ‘15), Carolyn Braizer (Civil Engineering BS ‘14), and Anita Hot (Chemical Engineering BS ‘15 and MS ‘17). Additionally, our professional mentor, Pat Arnett (a Principal at Silman, a structural engineering firm in NYC), traveled with them,” said civil and environmental engineering professor Daniel
Hochstein, Ph.D. The student organization is continuing to work towards their goal of building the bridge despite a minor setback after a switch in club administrators. In addition to administrational issues, secretary Brianna Gallo said, “I believe it’s hard to get students interested and involved in a project that they may not see get constructed while they are still attending MC.” No matter the circumstances, Engineers Without Borders is not giving up on helping the residents of Cameroon. Right now, the organization is putting a great amount of effort into fundraising and is working with Silman, an engineering firm, in order to work on the bridge’s design. “I think it is also important to note that this entire project is funded by money that the students raise,” said Daniel
Hochstein, Ph.D. “Not only do they have to raise money for the travel costs, but they need to raise the money to construct the bridge. This includes all of the materials and labor.” Engineers Without Borders encourages students of all majors and talents to get involved, even if they are not civil engineers. There are many different ways in which students can help, and those interested can email manhattanewb@gmail. com to get started. Gallo said, “The organization truly has no borders; we reach out and find communities that are in need and attempt to improve their lives with the projects that we work on.” Engineers Without Borders completes all of these projects with respect for all people, concern for the poor and social justice, in true Lasallian spirit.
Features
JANUARY 30, 2018
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NMUN Students Represent the United Kingdom in the Galapagos Islands Tara Marin & Jess Solan Senior Writer & Staff Writer
Over winter break, a group of students from Manhattan College participated in a special National Model United Nations (NMUN) conference in the Galapagos Islands. They represented the United Kingdom, returning with a number of awards, as well as memories. The Quad spoke with three delegates from the trip who reflected on their experiences. For Chris Byrne, a senior international studies major, the Galapagos was his fourth NMUN conference. Prior to the trip, Byrne, a delegate on the Security Council, spent hours researching the impacts of climate change and environmental migration on peace and security around the world. Byrne’s hard work paid off at the conference, and he was blown away by the scenery. “It was completely different from any other conference I have done, because there was no WiFi. But the conference was also directly across from a beach. We would go to this beach after committee sessions almost everyday,” Byrne said. Lizzie Garcia, also a senior international studies major, was a delegate in the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. “I wanted to push main-
Students had the opportunity to travel to the Galapagos Islands to partake in the National Model United Nations conference and represent the United Kingdom. NMUN FACEBOOK /COURTESY then finding ways that the UK could support furthering that development. “I really enjoyed this part of the prep work because I always love learning about the organizations and programs that exist to help those that need it. It was also exciting and challenging to come up with new, realistic ways to expand on these pro-
Students were able to experience all the unique aspects of the island. LIZZIE GARCIA / COURTESY streaming a gender perspec- grams from the point of view of tive through the development the UK,” she said. Julia Canigiani, a sophoof both of our proposed topics. Since I was representing more international studies a country that is not primar- and psychology major, was asily affected by the topics at signed to a committee called hand, I was pushing for the the United Nations Educacontinuation of research and tional, Science and Cultural development in partner with Organization (UNESCO). Her universities and both private delegation was responsible for and non-governmental organi- representing these topics in rezations. By aiding in the instal- lation to politics and positions lation of sustainable technol- on certain topics in the UK. “To prepare for the trip, we ogy for industrialization and water and sanitation facilities, I individually had to write a posiwanted to ensure the increase tion paper in which we had to of education and employment make proposals regarding the opportunities for all members topics our committee would be of affected communities,” Gar- discussing at the conference, with mine being primarily on cia explains. Garcia’s research involved the protection of World Herifinding numbers and facts on tage Sites. We had to do a lot of how the United Nations and research and editing drafts of the United Kingdom already the paper, which took around address the issues at hand, and two to three months until we
each had our final copy ready to submit,” said Canigiani. Since this was Canigiani’s first NMUN conference, she was not sure what to expect. “I went into the conference wanting to back up the proposal I had made in my position paper and hopefully get it to be written into a resolution. It ended up being a large part of a resolution my committee and I wrote on developing a ‘task force’ to assist world heritage sites that were in danger,” she said. At the conference, the MC delegation received the third highest honor, an honorable mention, but there were other rewarding parts of the trip as well, as the group spent a day doing community service by helping plant trees on a farm. “This farm was really like no other farm I have ever seen - half of it was almost like a rainforest, and there were giant tortoises on the farm as well,” Byrne said. The group also went on excursions. When the conference was over, the MC delegation toured the islands by both land and sea. “The sea tour was my favorite; we spent the day on a boat seeing parts of the island that aren’t accessible by land,” Garcia said. “We went snorkeling around a giant volcanic rock that was millions of years old and saw sea turtles and sharks. A few of us even went snorkeling on the beach and the sea lions were so friendly they were swimming with us,” Garcia said. Byrne also described the excitement of their sea experience. “We saw yellowtail fish, sea turtles, sharks, sea lions, and about 1,000 tropical fish. In ad-
dition, we went to a few private and secluded beaches where the sand was practically white. On our snorkeling day, the captain of the boat took us to a spot where we saw about 500 dolphins swimming together, it was an unbelievable sight. The water is amazingly clear, it was like bath water, and it was like that throughout the island. We also went to a giant tortoise hatchery where they are bred. Moreover, we did numerous hiking trips throughout the national park in the Galapagos,” Byrne said. “During the land tour, we climbed a volcano with a lagoon on top and were able to see amazing views of the incredible and diverse landscape. We also visited a tortoise sanctuary where they house tortoises of all ages, from babies to 80 years old,” Garcia said. Canigiani said, “I got to sit next to sea lions every day on the beach; not many people get to experience that in their lifetime,” also mentioning that they swam beside them for their snorkeling experience. The students enjoyed meeting students from all over the U.S. and the world at the conference, as they all stayed in the same hotel. Garcia mentioned meeting students from Ecuador, Canada, and Germany. Garcia also enjoyed bonding with the people on her committee and achieving conference goals as a group. “My committee was small, just 11 students, and everyone was friendly and happy to work together. It was really a great experience to make new friends while also simulating the negotiations and conflicts that arise during UN meetings. We were able to pass two resolutions for our first topic, Solv-
ing SDG 6: Ensuring Access to Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation For All, and got to writing one comprehensive working paper for our second topic, Promotion of Sustainable Industrial Development and Innovation in Rural Areas,” she said. What Byrne found most fascinating about the Galapagos Islands was how clean they were. “When you are there, it feels like that they [the islands] are practically untouched by humans. There are sea lions everywhere, I mean everywhere. If you turn a street corner there’s sea lions. They are on every boat in the harbor. They are on every beach. There was a boardwalk along the beach, and up against the railings there would be sea lions. Literally there are more sea lions than people. It’s hard to explain but they are literally everywhere,” Byrne said. Some light research proves Byrne’s point: according to the Galapagos Islands’ tourism website, there are 50,000 sea lions on the island, more than double the amount of people on the islands. Garcia was amazed by the sea lions, but also by the biodiversity of the animals and plants all over the island. “I really think it’s something we may hear about but can’t totally appreciate until you see it. There were sea lions everywhere and it was so fun to see the babies playing on the beach. There were little geckos and all kinds of colorful birds hanging around the beaches and sidewalks, and the plant life was just beautiful too,” she said.
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SUDS and Gems by Gina Alexa Schmidt Asst. Editor
A junior from Westchester, NY currently majoring in communication and minoring in digital media art at Manhattan College, Gina DiMauro is both a student and businesswoman. DiMauro owns her own company called SUDS, which sells homemade organic soaps, and also has her own jewelry line called Gems by Gina. It all started when DiMauro’s doctor told her she was allergic to coconut oil. Unfortunately, a lot of soaps use coconut oil as a main ingredient, so she had to come up with a solution. She figured she would give creating her own soaps a shot, and with the help of the Internet, she learned what that process entailed. “It’s a lot of organic and natural things that go into it. A lot of essential oils, and then argan oil, depending on what kind of soap it is. I take all the ingredients, and I melt it down, make sure it’s really boiling hot, and then let it cool for 10 seconds. Then I put in the essential oils, sometimes walnut particles if I’m making an exfoliator, then I let it cool for 10 more seconds, and then pour it in the molds and go from there,” DiMauro said. “It’s a learning process.” To make her own soap, DiMauro goes home, which is cleaner and provides more space than a dorm room. Along with making the soap, DiMauro also designs the packaging. She explained that coming up with the de-
sign was originally for a school project, but decided to continue to use it for SUDS. As a digital media art minor, she loves working with layouts and experimenting with how things look. “It’s not the actual making of the products that’s the hardest, it’s the marketing and the advertising and producing a package that is appealing to my audience and figuring out what works and doesn’t work,” DiMauro said. However, it is another story when it comes to how DiMauro started creating her own jewelry. “My junior year of high school, I was inspired by Tumblr, and this was before the choker trend, and I saw these cool chokers, but no stores had them yet, so I thought, why don’t I make them myself? And that’s when Gems by Gina came, and when I started to make jewelry,” DiMauro said. “I did that for a year, and then once I finally got accepted into college, it kind of died down, until summer of 2017.” DiMauro has been making jewelry since, and continues to come up with her own creations that include long pendant necklaces and bracelets. She goes into the city, near the old garment district and buys her materials at bead stores. She prefers to make bracelets because the beads are cheaper, but finds the overall process very therapeutic and relaxing. DiMauro sells her jewelry at a shop in her town that supports local designers and businesses. She first made the connection with the owner
DiMauro owns her own company that makes organic soaps and has her own jewelry line that she sells at local stores. GINA DIMAURO / COURTESY just by talking to her and initiating conversation. “I just started talking about how I make my own jewelry. She was a new store owner and we just started talking, and she said how she liked to support local artists. She complimented me on my necklace, and I was like, oh I make these. From there, we just started networking, and talking. What I’ve realized from pitching is that you have to really build a relationship with with who you’re selling your stuff to and your clients” DiMauro said. DiMauro does business at MC as well. “I try to sell products at Manhattan, and I don’t push people to, but people needed gifts before Christmas and I did pretty well. A lot of people bought a lot of jewelry and some soaps, and I actually made body scrubs for the Christmas season and people liked them too,” she said.
She continued. “People are really supportive here. I was a little bit surprised, I didn’t know how people were going to react, but people were very supportive. I’ve gotten no negative reactions so far, knock on wood,” she said. DiMauro manages the other components of having her own business. “I do most of the money. My business is doing very well, but it’s also not big enough where I need to bring in another person to do the financial things. I understand the basic math behind it, like how to make a profit and stuff, and hearing other people’s advice is helpful too. It’s a lot of work, but if you break it up into time and space, it’s okay,” she said. In addition to getting a positive reaction from around campus, DiMauro also experienced the highest form of flattery from peers.
“I guess it’s an inspiration to other people on campus to start their own businesses. My own friend started her own hair and eyelash extension company, and she saw that I could do it, so she thought she could do it too. That was one of the best compliments that I’ve ever had in my life,” DiMauro said. When it comes to the future, DiMauro is not sure where her business will take her. “I’ll see where this goes. School come first for me, this is kind of just a side thing when I have free time, I’m not really sure. Hopefully I’ll continue it for a while. I’d love to see that to happen,” DiMauro said. Examples of DiMauro’s products can be found on Instagram @soaps.suds.skin
“By a Thread” Reveals Untold Stories of Women in Labor Camps Lauren Schuster Asst. Editor
As part of Holocaust Remembrance Week, the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center invited Marisa Fox-Bevilacqua, creator of the documentary “By a Thread,” to speak about her experience doing research for the film. The film “By a Thread” documents Fox-Bevilacqua’s journey as she worked to uncover the details of what exactly her late mother experienced during the Holocaust. Her research led to the discovery that her mother spent over four years in a slave labor camp called Gabersdorf, which was located in what is now the Czech Republic. This discovery then allowed Fox-Bevilacqua to make connections with other
women who were survivors of the camp and learn stories about her mother that shed light on the difficult reality that she was never allowed to ask about as a child. “[The process] has been emotional, but it’s also been a thrill, which I know sounds very weird, [but] with every discovery there was also the [feeling of] ‘but what does that really mean?’” Fox-Bevilacqua said. Each discovery prompted Fox-Bevilacqua to keep searching for more information, which led her to know her mother in a way she had never previously thought possible. “First it was the exhilaration of finding things out, you know, [...] all this stuff that had been so abstract to me that I’d wanted since I was a little girl was suddenly [real]. [...] You know, all of this stuff was happening
fast, but then [there was] absorbing it all,” Fox-Bevilacqua said. Although these discoveries were personal for Fox-Bevilacqua, the reason she wanted to share them by creating the documentary was that she wanted to impact the way that people think about the Holocaust. Because her mother had been in an all-women’s camp, FoxBevilacqua knew that she had a unique opportunity to shed light on the specific treatment that women endured during the Holocaust. The notes and journal entries that young women like Fox-Bevilacqua’s mother created bring a more humanizing view to the Holocaust. “The beauty of so many of these women’s stories is that these girls were great at writing not because they were modern day Shakespeare or anything,
but because they were just being honest and real,” Fox-Bevilacqua said. Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D., director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center, explained that a large part of why she wanted to hold this event was to provide an opportunity for the stories of women who survived the Holocaust to be heard. “There is very little done about women and the Holocaust, so I want to start highlighting that,” Afridi said. Afridi found addressing the specific issue of the abuse of women in the Holocaust to be a perfect fit with the larger mission of the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Center. “The mission for us as a center is to deal with social justice issues and to make people aware of human suffering, especially, in this case, women,”
Afridi said. Junior Olivia Gartland attended the event at the recommendation of Afridi. She found the talk to be very informative and expressed particular surprise at learning about the existence of women-only camps and the treatment of the women there. Gartland said, “This story in particular is an amazing one, and I can’t believe that it’s just now being uncovered, but then that also opens the door to the thousands of stories that are [not yet] uncovered.” “By a Thread” is in its final stages of production and FoxBevilacqua hopes to be able to release the film sometime next year. Afridi expressed hopes to organize a screening of the film at Manhattan College upon its release.
JANUARY 30, 2018
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MC Helps Bring Holocaust Exhibit to Riverdale Stephen Zubrycky Editor
The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale became home to a twelve-panel exhibit on the Holocaust last week. Compiled in large part by undergraduate researchers at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz., “Through the Eyes of Youth: Life and Death in the Bedzin Ghetto” follows the stories of six young people in the city of Bedzin, Poland during the German occupation. The Riverdale showing was the exhibit’s first on the East coast. The exhibit was curated by Bjorn Krondorfer, Ph.D., director of the Martin-Springer Institute and professor at Northern Arizona University. It opened at Northern Arizona in 2014 after a year and a half of work. “The original impetus was that the founder of the institute, that I’m now director of, is from this town. She was born there,” Krondorfer said. “That was the original idea… to honor her and her family.” Bedzin (pronounced “bengine”) is a city in southwest Poland, located about an hour’s drive from the German border. It was among the first cities to fall when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, with the Nazis seizing control of Bedzin on September 4, just three days after the invasion began. By September 9, Bedzin’s synagogue was burned to the ground. As the war progressed,
The showing in Riverdale was the exibits first showing on the east coast. STEPHEN ZUBRYCKY / THE QUADRANGLE. the Nazis began to concentrate Jews in Kamionka, forming a Jewish ghetto outside of Bedzin. By 1941, not a single Jew remained in Bedzin proper. Many of the Jews in Bedzin’s ghetto would ultimately be sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi’s largest extermination camp, located less than thirty miles to the southeast in the Polish city of Oswiciem. Some of the young people followed by the exhibit went on to recount their stories, including Sam Pivnik, author of “Survivor,” and Ella LiebermannShiber, who recounted her experience in illustrations and
paintings. Excerpts from “Survivor” and illustrations by Liebermann-Shiber were included in the exhibit. Before the war broke out, Bedzin was a city of roughly 50,000, with a nearly even split between Jews and Catholics. Since the war, Bedzin’s Jewish population has been reduced to a footnote, with many survivors opting to relocate to other countries, like Israel or the United States. Through Krondorfer’s work, Riverdale resident Rick Feldman learned of his roots in Bedzin.
“This grew out of a meeting that Holocaust Genocide Interfaith Center was running years ago on the Abrahamic religions and, kind of, extremism,” Feldman said. “Here, at Manhattan College, at a meeting on extremism, I’m learning about the remnants of my family in Flagstaff, Arizona, coming from Bedzin, Poland.” “As a teacher myself, I have to say […] ‘Well, you know, we have to bring this story to Riverdale,” Feldman said. Feldman, Krondorfer and Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies at Manhattan College, then
opened a line of communication. “The [Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith] Center sponsored [Krondorfer’s] travel, his coming here, his staying here and educating the people that were there,” Afridi said. “Our role, again, is to walk young people, and people from the community through a story, and to show them exactly what happened in the ghetto,” Afridi said. For more information on the exhibit, visit bedzinexhibit. org Lauren Schuster contributed reporting.
Award Season Gets “Scattered” at Campus Improv Show Samantha Walla Asst. Editor
In the midst of award season and the beginning of the spring semester, Scatterbomb held their first show of 2018. The title “Scatterbomb Presents: The Scatties,” gave their typical show an award showthemed twist. Using Hayden 100 as their stage, Scatterbomb delivered a night of long-form improv comedy to the students of Manhattan College. In true award show fashion, the team opened the show with a slideshow in memory of the stars who have passed within the last year, including Jerry Lewis, Hugh Hefner and, for a humorous twist, Scatterbomb’s own Madi Blecki. The group also presented a Best Picture Award with their very own ‘Moonlight’ and ‘La La Land’ inspired mix-up.
Senior Kevin Donald presented an award for “best pitcher” before revealing the literal picture that the group had decided was the best: a photo of John Lennon performing a comical walk. The team diverted from their usual ten-player line up into two five-player group performances. This change from long form scenes to what is called a “Spokane” centered around a group of people interspersed with cutaway scenes. In this case, dejected employees of Big Giuseppe’s pizza parlor, had just lost a dodgeball game to another restaurant. This main scene, called the spine, was comprised of several related flashback scenes detailing the relationships between Big Giuseppe and his employees. When asked why the group decided to switch up their typical format, Kevin Donald said “To get something fresh
and new. And to slow it down. We were a little bit frantic and we’ve been yelling over each other a lot recently. We thought that would slow the pace of the show down a little bit and let us each bloom a little bit more.” The general consensus among the team members was positive. “I thought it went really well,” said Madi Blecki. “I was nervous about it because we used to do that in the past and I didn’t particularly like it. You don’t get to perform with everyone and you want to, but I think it went well. I think we had more time to talk, like the people who were in each section and we had more like laughs per person if that makes sense.” Freshman member Jenn Bueti agreed. “I think that made us stronger as a team because we did more than we usually do and we did different things,” she
said. The second half of the show wrapped up a seemingly unrelated sketch, involving a couple at a Chili’s, with a clever nod to the first half of the show. Donald, portraying a greeter of the restaurant, apologized to the couple as their entire staff was engaged in a dodgeball tournament and would not be able to serve them. The troupe’s plans for the semester include the annual bit show and Scatterprom. The following show will be held on March 24, which will be the annual bit show. “Normally we do long-form improv, which is like, longer scene work and things like that,” explained Blecki. “The bit show is short form, so its more like games and bits and things like that. For example, last year we had Kevin play ‘Creep’ on the guitar and each of us came up and said why we were a Creep. More gimmicky
things like that.” Scatterbomb also plans to hold spring auditions for new members later in the semester. These auditions typically function as workshops for students with varying ranges of improv experience, from beginner to expert. After wrapping up their first show of the semester with both new and old aspects of their shows, fans are eager to see what Scatterbomb presents next. Scatterbomb’s next show will be on February 16 at 8 p.m. in Hayden 100.
Sports
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THE QUADRANGLE
Sophomore Brenton Foster Jumping to New Heights John Jackson Editor
While most Jaspers spent the first weekend in December preparing for college finals, sophomore Brenton Foster spent it by breaking a college record. Foster is a member of the Manhattan College men’s track and field team. The Townsville, Australia native specializes in jumps and has competed in high jumps, long jumps and triple jumps during his time so far at the college. However, on Saturday, Dec. 2, Foster not only competed in a high jump, but set a school record in one by recording a 2.24-meter jump (7’4¾ feet). With the jump, Foster broke Mohamed Koita’s record of 2.20 meters which was set in 2014. The record-shattering performance was an exciting way to open up the 2017-2018 season as head coach Dan Mecca noted. “If you’ve seen the video of it, you can hear the people cheering and that’s our team that were all in the stands watching him jump,” said Mecca. “They were all excited. I was, he was.” While setting the record was fantastic in Mecca’s eyes, he made sure Foster stayed focused as he was attempting to record an even better jump.
“I actually tried to keep it a little bit calmer just to keep everything on an even keel for him because he was going to go to the next height,” said Mecca. “We put the bar up to 2.26 for the next height. That’s because the facility record is 2.25 and they wanted to break it.” Foster’s performance landed him MAAC Performer of the Week honors for the first time in his career. The honor felt good for him, but looking at the big picture, he was glad to be able to help the team. “That felt really good,” said Foster about being honored with MAAC Performer of the Week. “Being part of the MAAC and helping Manhattan to achieve points during our outdoor and indoor championships is really good. So to know that I’m the performer of the week really makes me feel good that I can get the points at the championships.” Foster’s next jump came on Dec. 9 at the Yale Invitational in New Haven, Conn. He took home first place there with a 2.14-meter jump. His continued success into the new year by placing first at the Mike Massone Invitational at Fordham University with a 2.10-meter high jump. Foster just missed another first-place victory in Staten Island at the Penn 8 Team Select meet on Jan. 13. Like the Mike Massone Invitational, Foster recorded a 2.10- meter high
The Manhattan College women’s basketball team triumphed over Iona with a score of 67-63. JOHN JACKSON/THE QUADRANGLE jump. However, his opponent Lance Yassay from Penn recorded the same 2.10 meters on his first try. While Foster has been finding lots of success in the high jump during the season so far, things were not always as smooth for him according to his coach. “Freshman year he had a tough year of transition coming from Australia to our system, to our training,” said Mecca. “He did well in the long jump, but not as well in the high jump. And this year you can see he’s really adapted to everything we’re doing and doing very well with it.” Not only is Foster doing
well individually, but he’s also leaving a positive impact on the entire track and field team as a whole. Even the runners who have different practice times as him view his overall performance as a boost to the team. “I think if that attitude is spread throughout the team, we can all perform pretty well and do our best,” said senior Paige Chapman. Junior Lisa Fajardo likewise views Foster’s success with the team as a plus. “Having someone at that caliber is really inspiring and I’m so happy to be on the same team as somebody that can do that,” said Fajardo. Records could last a life-
time or be broken again soon after they are set. For Foster he hopes it’s the latter. “Hopefully,” said Foster on whether he thinks there is more to come. “[I’m] definitely working hard at it. Definitely putting in the effort to keep increasing it. Hopefully increase the record here.” Being a sophomore, Foster still has plenty of time left to increase that record as well as leave an even bigger impact on the team than he has already. “Oh yes definitely,” said Mecca on whether he feels there’s more to come for Foster. “I think he can go higher, I think he can jump with the best in the NCAA this year.”
Men’s Lacrosse Team Back in Action for 2018 John Jackson Editor
After a little over nine months, the Manhattan College men’s lacrosse team will be back at it again this Saturday, Feb. 3 as they open on the road at Bryant. The Jaspers also opened their season against Bryant the last two years, falling to the Smithfield, R.I. team by a score of 16-3 in 2016 and by 17-10 in 2017. However, head coach Drew Kelleher has purposely wanted to play them each year he has coached the team so far. “Bryant is a similar institution that is a program that we want to strive to be like,” said Kelleher. “They’ve been in the NCAA Tournament two of the last three years, played Maryland in the [first] round last year. So we play them to open every year to kind of use it as a gauge.” Goalie Michael Zingaro looks forward to the upcoming season and knows his teammates feel the same way. “We’re really excited to get after it,” said Zingaro. “We’ve put in a ton of work since day
one of the fall semester. So our boys are itching to get after it in the spring.” Zingaro will have even more help this season from a coaching standpoint as two new coaches have joined the team. The additions are assistant coach Jack Runkel and volunteer assistant coach James Amandola. Runkel comes from Yale where he served as an assistant coach the last two seasons. During that time, Yale won the Ivy League Championship twice. Not only does Runkel have experience with winning as a coach, but he also has experience winning as a player as he was the starting goalie for Loyola’s 2012 NCAA Championship season. This brings invaluable qualities to the team which a goalie like Zingaro feels is a large positive. “Being a goalie myself, he really brings a great expertise and knowledge to the game,” said Zingaro about Runkel. “All over the field he brings a huge energy that’s almost uncomparable and really drives us forward.” Amandola is returning to where it all began for him. He
graduated from Manhattan in 2002, but not before leaving a mark on the lacrosse team. In 2002 alone he led the team to its only MAAC Championship, was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, was named MVP and had the best save percentage in the nation with 67 percent. His success wasn’t limited to the one year either as he was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. Attacker Parker Giarratana, who is currently in the midst of leaving an impact on this team himself, praised Amandola on the high level of energy he brings. “For Coach Amandola, he just brings the energy all day and everyday,” said Giarratana. “Just always positive vibes, always keeping the players positive and I think he’s doing that perfectly.” Giarratana is only entering his third year with the team, but he has already won MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2016, won MAAC Rookie of the Week five times in 2016 and amassed 83 points during his first two years. Only seven Jaspers have ever eclipsed 100 points in their career and Giarratana is almost
there already. “I think the sky’s the limit for Parker,” said Kelleher. “I think he’s got some really nice pieces around him right now and I think he could be in for another big year.” While Giarratana has accomplished this all in his first two years, he is not letting it get to his head, but instead is focused on his team first and foremost. “There’s really no expectations for me personally,” said Giarratana. “I’m here for my team. Whatever I have to do to help my team win and accomplish our goals, that’s what I’m really gonna do.” The team will have some challenges though. They haven’t finished over .500 in conference play since 2010. They also haven’t finished over .500 overall nor have they won a game in the MAAC Tournament since 2009. However, just like any sports team, a new class of players could change the whole dynamic of a team and that has to be the hope for 2018. “We think we’ve recruited really well, but they’re basically a seed in the ground and we’ve got to grow them,” said Kelle-
her. Two sophomores and 14 freshmen have been added to the team. Giarratana feels a lot of these new players will see some time on the field. One that has especially stood out to him has been Sean MacKinney. MacKinney played lacrosse for Bridgewater-Raritan High School in New Jersey where he earned four letters, helped his team make it to the 2016 State Championship and helped his team to two Skyland Conference titles. “He’s just been playing absolutely amazing so I think a bunch of the other freshmen are playing great too,” said Giarratana. “I think that throughout the whole class, it was a very good recruiting class.” After playing Bryant, the Jaspers will face Wagner, VMI, Lafayette, Bellarmine, Virginia and UMass Lowell before beginning MAAC play on Mar. 17. “It’s exciting,” said Kelleher. “We have a good balance of some really challenging opponents and some teams we think we can be really competitive with.”
Sports
JANUARY 30, 2018
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Andre van Huyssteen Makes His Debut for Men’s Swimming and Diving JASPERS TALK C. Garrett Keidel Asst. Editor
Freshmen Andre van Huyssteen is an International Business major from Paarl, South Africa on the Men’s Swimming and Diving team. He hopes to grow academically and athletically in his time at Manhattan College, along with becoming an involved member of the school community. Having success in his collegiate debut against Baruch College by winning the 200 IM with a time of 2:16.50, he hopes to continue this success throughout the remainder of the season. The Quadrangle: How did you get into sports, swimming in particular? Andre van Huyssteen: Well I am from a very athletic family. I have an older sister and a younger sister and both of my parents were athletes. My mom was a netball player and my dad was a rugby player. With my older sister, I would just follow her example, so whatever she did, I did as well. One day she started swimming, so just jumped in the pool as well and started swimming. TQ: What has been your experience so far being a college athlete? AvH: So far I have really enjoyed it. It’s so completely different, the facilities are amazing, the way the trainers help you, the coaches are really in-
terested in you as a swimmer in trying to make you better. It’s completely different from college sports in South Africa where they mainly focus on academics, while here they try to make you a better athlete and student. So I’m really enjoying it because it is so different. They’re totally focused on you, the group you train with is amazing because we all have the same goal. You work for a team, usually I would consider swimming an individual spot like back in South Africa. Here it’s a team sport. Everyone has the same goal to do well for themselves but also for the school. The training has been quite different from what I’m used to, so it’s been more intense training and more lifting. It has been really good so far. I enjoy it, and the people are so nice. TQ: What was it about Manhattan College that made you decide to come here? AvH: Obviously everyone wants to come to New York, so that was like the goal. I didn’t think it was a reality or a possibility actually. Then I started talking to schools from Florida, Ohio, Texas, and then I got Manhattan College. I started to talking to Molly [Belk] and I really liked the way she explained the school, and the community. It’s not that big of a school, but everyone seems to know each other, like each other and get along. Plus it’s in
Van Huyssteen speacializes in the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM. GOJASPERS/COURTESY
New York which meant a lot to me to be in the big city. When I started to look more into the school, I got really interested in things like having basketball, lacrosse, which I had never heard of before, baseball and all these different sports. Everyone seems so happy and I really wanted that. I might have gone to a school where swimming is bigger but they don’t have that same sort of community and vibe. TQ: What are some things you want to get out of being a Division I athlete? AvH: If you asked me this question three years ago, I would’ve said I want to go to the Olympics. Now I’m much more realistic where I just want to be the best I can possibly be. I think I’m going to take these four years to do the best I can possibly do, and see how far I can possibly go with swimming. What’s the best I can do when I eat right, train hard, I don’t drink, I do all the right things, how far can I possibly go? And also to improve, to be on a team, to make connections, to meet new people, to see new places, that’s basically what I want to do with swimming. TQ: What events do you specialize in when you swim? AvH: I specialize in the IMs, so the 200 and 400 IM. Then also the 200 fly, those are my three main events. TQ: Do you have a favorite swimmer? AvH: I do have a favorite swimmer and his name is Chad le Clos. He beat Michael Phelps in the 200 butterfly at the 2012 Olympic Games. So I’m taking it back to South Africa. I also like another South African swimmer named Cameron van der Burgh. Those are my two favorite South African swimmers, and the American swimmers I like are Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. TQ: Do you have a favorite swimming moment professionally and personally? AvH: My favorite moment professionally while watching swimming is definitely during the 2012 Olympics in the 200 butterfly when Chad le Clos beat Michael Phelps. You should’ve seen the newspapers the next day. The whole of South Africa was invested. That was a time when swimming was on everyone’s minds, everyone knew about him. That’s what I aspired to be. And for personally swimming, we had senior nationals last year in Durban, South Africa and I raced the 200 butterfly final next to Chad
Andre van Huyssteen cited Manhattan College’s close-knit community as a reason for attending. GOJASPERS/COURTESY le Clos. He beat me by 25 meters, but I still had the opportunity to race against him. He’s such a nice guy, so just to race against him made all the hard work pay off. TQ: Do you have a nickname on the team? AvH: Well I’m trying to get this nickname in, it hasn’t really worked. But I’m trying to make it Dre, kind of like Dr. Dre. Some of them started to call me that, it hasn’t completely caught on but I hope it does. TQ: Do you have any goals you want to achieve academically and in competition? AvH: I want to be an Academic All-American. My main focus by being here is academics first. I want to get a good job after this. I want to do well in my academics, so that is very important to me. At the same time I want to do well in my sport. If I can achieve a good combination of the two then I will be happy. TQ: What are some things you are looking forward to doing here at Manhattan College? AvH: In the city, I’d like to experience all the tourist things. After that I’d like to experience the normal New Yorker way of life. I’m getting a vibe of that from my teammates knowing how they live. At the school I want to get involved in different communities. I don’t want to be solely involved in the swimming community. I want to be involved with people who write for the newspaper, for example, or people interested in history or economics. I want to get to know different people because I believe you cannot just be involved with one group of people. You have to meet new people, get to know new people and learn how to cope with people who have different views as
you or the same views as you. In the pool, I would like to be the best swimmer I can possibly be. Hopefully one day be team captain in my senior year. I also want to have good relationships with everyone and to help in getting new recruits like people from different countries. I think that me being here, I can give them insight on leaving your family and the life as you had known it behind to come to America. I want to be an example for other people. TQ: Are there any things that you miss from South Africa that you wish you could bring here to the United States? AvH: I do miss speaking Afrikaans, that’s the language that we speak. I try to teach my team some words. I have a word of the day where I try to teach them an Afrikaans word. I miss the language along with my family and food. I’m making the most of it while I’m here. I’m trying to not think about home too much and experience everything I can. TQ: Do you have a message you’d like to say to the college community? AvH: I just want to say thank you for being so nice to me. When I decided to come to New York everyone told me that people are so mean, no one talks to you, that they just look down on their phones and what not. But people have been so nice to me. They really try to make sure I know where to go, know what to do, if I don’t know what to do I can literally ask anyone a question and they’ll help me out. So I just want to thank everyone for being so nice and helping me out.
Sports
12
THE QUADRANGLE
Manhattan Falls 78-65 to Iona at NYCB Live Charles Lippolis Senior Writer
On Saturday Jan. 27, the Manhattan College Men’s Basketball team fell 78-65 to the Iona Gaels in a matchup that was hosted by NYCB Live in Uniondale, N.Y. Head coaches Steve Masiello (MAN) and Tim Cluess (IONA) both agreed that the event was good for the growth and promotion of the MAAC. “It was a nice arena, it was a nice venue and it was fun playing here,” said Cluess after the game. The venue has also been in the discussion for being potential home of the MAAC tournament in future years, a topic that Masiello felt was imperative to the advancement of the MAAC. “There can be no sour grapes, there has to be complete buy in… let’s all have ownership, invest in our conference; and then I think great things will happen for this conference,” Masiello said. On the floor, Iona led for all but 50 seconds of the game, with a lead as large as 13 in the second half. However, Iona’s junior guard Ricky McGill was forced to sit midway through the second half due to foul trouble. Manhattan’s sophomore guard Aaron Walker Jr. was able to flourish and scored eight points along with four assists to keep the Jaspers in striking distance. “I thought he did some good things offensively, I thought he played through mistakes tonight, which was the thing I was the most proud of,” Masiello said. The Jaspers fell behind early in part because of 10
The game between the Manhattan College Jaspers and the Iona Gaels was hosted by NYCB Live in Uniondale, N.Y. ANTHONY DEPINHO / THE QUADRANGLE first-half turnovers. Masiello addressed this problem in the locker room at the half, and the team finished with 13 on the game. Still they were overmatched by the Gaels’ 57.5 percent shooting in the second half, led by junior guard Schadrac Casimir’s 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point-range. Manhattan was led by senior forward Zane Waterman, who notched 18 points and 12 rebounds while playing some physical basketball on the low block. Senior guard Zavier Turner also contributed 18 of
his own points to the effort. The Jaspers went into the third game of the day’s MAAC triple header without senior leader Rich Williams. Masiello called Williams day-to-day after the game, mentioning that Williams has been hampered by a hand injury he played through in the team’s last matchup with Niagara. “We want to make sure we have him for when it counts,” Masiello said. Both sides also agreed that Saturday’s tilt had a true tournament taste to it, while the physicality of the game helped
keep it close and exciting. However, the game came down to Iona out-executing Manhattan; shooting better from the field, 3-point-range and at the foul line. Masiello’s team was able to stay in the fight by crashing the offensive glass hard. The Jaspers were able to out-rebound the Gaels 17-4, and outscored them in second chance opportunities 19-6. After two tough losses, the Jaspers will head home to face off with the Marist Red Foxes to try and get back on track. Historically, Masiello has put
his faith in two things every year: the process of preparing for the MAAC Tournament, and his seniors leading the team by example. Even after a second consecutive loss on Saturday, Masiello is confident in his team and his blueprint. “I have great faith in myself, I have great faith in [Zane Waterman], I have great faith in Rich Williams, [Zavier] Turner, Calvin Crawford…I’ll take those four to the MAAC tournament any day of the week and good luck to whoever is going against us,” said Masiello.
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Historically, Masiello has put his faith in two things every year: the process of preparing for the MAAC Tournament, and his seniors leading the team by example. __________________________
The Jaspers fell behind early in part because of 10 first-half turnovers. TAYLOR BRETHAUER / THE QUADRANGLE
After two tough losses, the Jaspers will head home to face off with the Marist Red Foxes to try and get back on track. ANTHONY DEPINHO/ THE QUADRANGLE