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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume XCVIII, Issue 5
FREE
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018
Assembly Talks Elevators, Orca TV Asbestos Abatement and Club Budgets at Second Meeting Continues in Leo STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSEMBLY
As Manhattan College makes progress on renovations and construction around campus, asbestos found as work is completed poses a snag that must be dealt with. The Environmental Protection Agency banned asbestos usage in the 1970s but most campus buildings were built before that policy went into effect, and utilize asbestos for electric insulation as well as building insulation. Andrew Ryan, VP of Facilities, was not surprised when asbestos was found during renovations and construction. “You know its a 1950s building or so, so typically what you expect would be things like floor adhesive, floor tiles, pipe insulation for sure, sometimes ceiling tiles, but we didn’t have that issue down there, what else, up on the roof sometimes roofing materials, sometimes the glue and sometimes the flashings that go on the wall … We knew we had asbestos,” said Ryan. He continued. “We got it in many buildings but just the mere presence of asbestos is absolutely not a problem. When asbestos becomes a problem is ... when it becomes airborne and then the prolonged breathing it in.” Asbestos is being found and removed in the Leo Engineering Building. On the front doors of Leo facing RLC, signs have been posted notifying students and the public of the presence of asbestos, as well as the fact that MC is permitted to work on asbestos abatement. “One of the things about asbestos abatement is that you have to post notices all over the place. They’re pretty horrible signs, you know and scares the whole world,” said Ryan, “They’re required and say there’s asbestos abatement in process.” The school works with fully licensed contractors to make sure all work gets done properly. There are different ways to abate the asbestos but one process involves plasticiz-
ing and sealing the room off, putting the room under negative pressure, exhausting the air from the room through a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and having workers go through a ‘decon’ area where they can shower off any left over particles. All the material that needs to be disposed of is double bagged and then brought to a site to be legally disposed of. The work has not interfered with school functions or with student or faculty life. “Most of the time that we’re doing it, we do it at night… The only time it will interfere with classes and stuff like that is if we have to close a hallway, which we had to during the summertime but that’s it,” said Ryan. While the school has the full information about the abatement process and the safety of the process, the notices were left for students to see and for some, to be concerned about. Senior civil engineering major Brian J. Murphy was one of a few students who started to feel a little uneasy about the signs. “I didn’t think much of it, but the more i thought about the more I realized that asbestos is asbestos and it just isn’t good at all,” said Murphy, “I really hope it hasn’t affected any students and that no one’s breathed it in. That would be bad for us; it would be bad for the school.” Sophomore civil engineering major Andrew Scala also shared some concerns. “I feel that the school should’ve had informed us through emails or more postings rather than only the signs in the front because most students come in from the back,” said Scala, “ I also wish the school would keep us up to date on the air quality that they are supposed to be monitoring.” According to Ryan, at no point in the process has the air been unsafe. While there is no set end date for the completion of the abatement, the school has completed the bulk of the work and plans to continue to remove any asbestos it finds as future construction and renovation projects are undertaken.
IN A&E:
IN SPORTS:
Gabriella DePinho & Richard Gerling Asst. News Editor & Contributor
The Student Government Executive Board met with the assembly on Sept. 19. TAYLOR BRETHAUER / THE QUADRANGLE
Taylor Brethauer Editor-in-Chief
Student Government held their second assembly meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 12 p.m. in Kelly 4B. The Cooper administration had the idea of assigning seats for voting members in order to pass out ballots and fill the front rows. The meeting started with a brief talk with Nick Valinotti, the resident district manager of Gourmet Dining. He has worked his way up in the ranks of Gourmet Dining and with the recent departure of Brian Weinstein, Valinotti was promoted to his new title. “I’ve been here the past seven years and I’ve worked my way up ... I really look forward to working with everybody here. If you all need anything or have any suggestions, please feel free to reach out, I’m really responsive and I’ll take care of everybody here,” said Valinotti. He spoke about updates coming to the dining areas on campus, including the fresh fruit and smoothie bar happening at Locke’s Loft that day. He
IN OPINION:
It’s time we start talking about suicide on p. 2
then answered questions from students and handed out free Gourmet Dining coffee cards to the assembly members. Budget Allocation Committee There were two clubs presenting to the assembly after being approved by the BAC for their specific requests. The process is then to allow assembly members to vote on the exact allocation. Representing the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) was senior Aaron Beinstein, who explained the conference to the assembly. “We are asking for about $1500 to send two students to the the AIChE national conference in Pittsburgh. Largely why we want to go is to build our organization here,” said Beinstein. Representing Society of Women Engineers (SWE) was senior Megan Haber, who explained their conference to the assembly. “[Our conference] will be in Minneapolis, Minnesota. SWE has gone to conferences before ... what happens at these conferences is there is a huge career fair ... networking ... and
IN FEATURES: 22-Push Ups for Veteran Suicide Awareness on p. 8
multiple lectures,” said Haber. The networking at these conferences allowed the group to bring to campus the #HeForSWE campaign. The group asked for $2500 for six members and one advisor. Vice president of finance, Ryan Kwiecinski, reminded the assembly of the procedures pertaining to advisors. “Just for clarification purposes, through the Budget Allocation Committee we do not cover the cost of the advisor because the money from the [BAC] does come from the student activities fee so it is for student conferences only. Even if the advisor is going on the trip, the advisors are not included in our allocations and we make sure to calculate without the advisor,” said Kwiecinski. The BAC determined they would allocate $1700 for this request. The assembly ruled in favor of giving the allocated budgets. At that time, assembly __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
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