Issue 8, Spring 2024

the Quadrangle

PresidentAddressesCuts&Layoffsin OpenForumatDraddyGymnasium

Students filed into Draddy Gymnasium on Wednesday to listen to President Milo Riverso speak about recent issues facing the college.

MCStudentsandMathematics ProfessorPresentMRIResearch andBuildUpontheirFindings

Karen Flores Staff Writer

Several Manhattan College students are researching MRI effectiveness and efficiency under Angel Pineda, Ph.D., professor of mathematics, and Rehan Mehta, a senior economics and mathematics double major, presenting their findings at various conferences.

According to manhattan. edu, the project is being funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), which granted Pineda a three-year $434,000 grant as a renewal of his current NIH grant.

Pineda explained that the goal of this project is to make

the MRI machines faster while keeping the results at the same rate of accuracy.

“Our goal is to make MRI faster while still allowing the radiologist to see the same pathology, that way they can make it faster and keep it just as clinically accurate,” Pineda said. “If you’re a researcher, you want to find the kinds of research that other people aren’t doing because that means that you can contribute something. The reason why we’re working in MRI is because not many people are doing the kind of work that we do for MRI.”

Aside from presenting in the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference in San Diego,

Mehta has presented the research at conferences in Wisconsin and San Francisco.

“First we developed these kinds of models, graphs and visualizations and then all that work culminated into collating the results into a paper, which we submitted as an abstract to the SPIE medical imaging conference in San Diego,” Mehta said. “We got our paper accepted as a talk and Dr. Pineda gave me the gracious opportunity to present a talk and I am very grateful for that.”

Mehta was one of a few undergraduate students presenting at the conference.

“The thing that makes

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

President AddressesCuts &Layoffsin OpenForum atDraddy Gymnasium

Kyla Guilfoil & Grace Cardinal Senior Writer & Editor-in-Chief

Manhattan College’s President Milo Riverso, Ph.D., addressed the college’s recent budget cuts and layoffs in a rare open meeting on March 20.

The meeting comes after the college laid off over 25% of its faculty beginning in June 2023 and over a dozen majors and minors were discontinued

At the meeting, Riverso told students that the college had spent $50 million over its allowed budget for the last five years, which led to the reduction of faculty and programs to minimize costs.

However, Riverso said that with the cuts, the college is, “Now out of the woods.”

“The only thing that can hurt the college now is nervous students and nervous prospective students,” Riverso said at the meeting.

Riverso emphasized that he had, “Accomplished what he set out to do.”

Ultimately, he said that by cutting a number of faculty and academic programs, the college is now “right-sized.”

Riverso also said that as enrollment is currently down 30% from recent years, it was no longer feasible to operate the college at the size it had previously been run at.

“We have turned the corner on what was a very serious financial situation to one that will have bright days ahead,” Riverso wrote in an email statement sent after the

meeting.

Both at the meeting and in Thursday’s email, Riverso emphasized that the college has no plans to close, despite concerns from students.

“First and foremost, and despite unfounded rumors to the contrary, Manhattan College is NOT CLOSING, and we have no intention of seeing anything happen to this great institution other than to continue to provide the same high quality education and opportunities for the future as it has for our entire 170 year history,” Riverso wrote.

Prior to the open forum, Student Government had sent out a form allowing students to submit questions that they wanted to be addressed at the meeting. Following the president’s prepared remarks at the open forum, he provided an opportunity for students to come forward with questions that had not been sent in to Student Government.

Many took advantage of this opportunity to speak directly to the president, but not all felt like they left with clear answers.

“I feel the same as I did before,” sophomore attendee Vanessa Eagle said. “I don’t feel any better…maybe a little better because I know the school isn’t closing, but there’s still so many unanswered questions.”

Marcy Kelly, Ph.D., dean of the Kakos School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS), sent her own email statement to students following the president’s meeting. In her email, she

The Editorial Board

Grace Cardinal Editor-in-Chief

Angelina Persaud Managing Editor Angelina Perez Engagment Editor

Brooke DellaRocco News Editor

Angelina Persaud Asst. News Editor

Mack Olmsted Features Editor Mary Haley Asst. Features Editor

Angelina Perez Arts & Entertainment Editor

Maizy Swift Jill Tuthill Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editors

LETTER from the EDITOR

Dear Readers,

Welcome back, we’ve missed you! As promised, our staff has returned well-rested and ready to write after our spring break hiatus.

PresidentAddressesCuts& LayoffsinOpenForumat DraddyGymnasium

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Isaiah Rosario Sports Editor Maizy Swift Ivy Jaep Production Editors

Mary Haley Social Media Editor Andrew Mannion Emmanouel Sofillas Asst. Sports Editors

Elizabeth Kalaj Web Editor

Barbara Vasquez Asst. Production Editor

Nicholas Gilewicz 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 mcquad.org @mcquad @mcquad mcquad

These last two weeks have been full of many newsworthy events, including a recent open forum held by the president (covered in news!), the MAAC tournament (covered in sports!) and so much more happening on and around campus that we can’t wait for you to catch up on.

Over our break, our team was hard at work behind the scenes and we are finally ready to announce that we are competing in the 2024 Media Madness Competition! This competition, hosted by Arizona State University and first created by Syracuse University, is designed to help college newspapers compete against one another to see who can fundraise the most. This year, The Quadrangle is one of 20 publications participating nationwide. As our supportive readers, we ask that if you’re able, you’ll consider contributing to our GoFundMe, or if not, you’re able to repost and share our content at this time. The competition runs from March 24 to April 8, and we’re hoping that with your help, we can get on the leaderboard! All proceeds will go to helping us print issues of our paper, something we’ve been unable to do regularly since our budget was cut last fall.

Next week, we’ll take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring you the 43rd issue of The Triangle, our annual satirical issue celebrating April Fool’s day. While unfortunately we won’t be posting these stories online (because we’d spreading fake news…sort of) you will still be able to find the issue posted in our archives here.

For those who will be celebrating Easter at the end of this week, I hope that you have a lovely holiday spent with those you love. Maybe we’ll even get some sun!

Until next time,

Editor-in-Chief

clarified which programs were being discontinued in KSAS.

The major programs eliminated include advanced leadership studies, art history, environmental studies, labor studies, mathematics graduate programs, nuclear medicine technology, philosophy, school building leadership, religious studies and urban studies. The minor programs cut include Japanese, digital arts and humanities (DASH), critical race and ethnicity studies (CRES), film studies, philosophy, religious studies, theater, urban studies and women and gender studies (WAGS).

Kelly emphasized that those who are already enrolled in these programs will still be able to fulfill their degree requirements and receive the

degree they are registered for. Furthermore, current students can still register to major or minor in these programs until March 30.

For any students who do not declare a major or minor in these programs before March 30, as well as any incoming students, these programs will no longer be available.

Kelly added that there are individualized plans in place for students who are in the discontinued majors or minors to complete their degrees.

In the conclusion of his email, President Riverso reiterated that the college is now on a sustainable path forward, and clarified that his ultimate goal is to keep the college, “Vibrant and thriving.”

MCStudentsandMathematicsProfessor PresentMRIResearchandBuildUpon theirFindings

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

his presentation in San Diego amazing is that he was presenting along with Ph.D. students, postdocs and faculty,” Pineda said. “He was one of a few undergraduates at the conference.”

Mehta first began researching with Pineda in 2022 during which he worked alongside Tetsuya Kawakita, an MC alum currently pursuing a master’s degree in chemical engineering at Columbia University.

“During 2022, my previous colleague Tetsuya Kawakita and I worked on developing human observer models for undersampled MRI by finding the optimal level of frequencies needed to understand the kinds

of models that can automate tumor detection using two forced choice tasks and a force localization task,” Mehta said. “I took the role of continuing the programming of these kinds of models under the mentorship of Dr. Pineda.” Kawakita worked on making a model for the two alternative forced-choice tasks and said that, like any other research, there was some trial and error.

“Back when I was an MC undergrad, I made the new model as well as tried it out to different noise models to see whether the noise within an image affects the noise within the human mind,” Kawakita explained. “But that

seemed inconclusive and we just continued to look for new possibilities. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but nothing beats the feeling of getting some good results or some kind of answer after many weeks of difficulties.”

Aurora Shahu, a junior computer science major, is one of the students currently working on the research alongside Mehta. She explained how the research involves interdisciplinary work.

“Rehan is using MATLAB and me and Aliaa [Eldakhakhny], the other student researcher, are using Python,” Shahu said. “We’re doing the same thing but we’re incorporating it with computer science through code while Rehan is using MATLAB and doing the procedures through linear regressions, statistics and other mathematical tools.”

Shahu said that research helps in applying skills she learned in the classroom to try and provide ways to advance current knowledge in different fields.

Pineda encourages students to look into research opportunities with faculty members.

“I think that students getting involved in research with faculty is a fantastic and wonderful experience,” Pineda said. “I would encourage students to approach faculty, share their interests should they have any in mind and see if they would be interested in doing research with them. The experiences and knowledge gained is very valuable.”

“We learned the basics in my computer science classes, and I’m able to strategize and learn how to solve problems from looking at different points of view through this research,” Shahu said. “The world is evolving and research is a great opportunity to find and learn something new through trial and error. I think it is great that computer science can be integrated in the medical field. So I’m hoping that it goes well and see how far we can go with it.”

Manhattan College’s President Milo Riverso, Ph.D., addressed the college’s recent budget cuts and layoffs in a rare open meeting on March 20. GRACE CARDINAL/ THE QUADRANGLE

TwoManhattanCollegeJaspers HonoredwithInduction intoNationalAcademyof Engineering

Emmanouel Sofillas & Matty Schule

Asst. Sports Editor & Staff Writer

In a testament to their exceptional contributions to the field of engineering, two distinguished Manhattan College professors have been awarded with induction into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Sonia Kreidenweis ‘83, Ph.D., who currently teaches at Colorado State University, and Jose E. Tabora, Ph.D., a graduate adjunct faculty member of the School of Engineering, have been recognized for their groundbreaking work and enduring impact on the engineering landscape.

Tabora, who spent much of his career in the field of chemical engineering research, has been acknowledged for his groundbreaking research in pharmaceutical development. With a career spanning over 17 years at Bristol Myers Squibb,

Tabora has made significant strides in data visualization and analysis.

“In all of my projects, I’ve had specific aspects that I’ve enjoyed a great deal and that I believe hold significant value for the organization,” Tabora said. “If I were to summarize my projects, it would be elevating the use of mathematics in chemical engineering, especially within pharmaceutical development.”

Reflecting on his induction into the NAE, Tabora expressed gratitude, stating, “When I heard the news, I got very excited and am very grateful both to the scientific community and to my collaborators.”

Similarly, Kreidenweis, a professor at Colorado State University who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College in 1983, is a chemical engineer renowned for her pioneering work in researching the effect of aerosols on the Earth’s atmosphere.

Kreidenweis’ research has

been instrumental in advancing observations for estimating impacts of aerosol emissions on air quality and climate. Her innovations have earned her acclaim and have positioned her as a leading figure in her field.

“My work has focused on how particles in the atmosphere (aerosols), whether from natural or man-made sources, affect the formation of cloud drops, ice crystals, and precipitation,” Kreidenweis said. “Our group has also studied how particles affect visibility, including studying smoke from wildfires. The frameworks we developed have been useful for interpretation of observations and for estimating impacts of changes in aerosol emissions on air quality and climate.”

Upon receiving news of her induction into the NAE, Kreidenweis remarked about her experience as a student at Manhattan College.

“I was very grateful to have received an academic scholarship to attend Manhattan College, and felt a strong responsibility to work hard to make the most of this opportunity and successfully attain my degree,” Kreidenweis said.

Kreidenweis continued by expressing her gratitude for learning under past professors at Manhattan College, attributing her love for her career to them.

“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work on research with Prof. Joe Reynolds and Prof. Lou Theodore,” Kreidenweis said. “They were working in air quality management, which was a very new field at the time, and sparked my interest in environmental applications of chemical engineering. That experience also helped me realize that I enjoyed research, and opened up the possibility of graduate school, which

MichaelGrabowski,Ph.D.,Gives DiscussiononAIDevelopments onBronxTalkSegment

Haley

BronxNet recently collaborated with Manhattan College professor Michael Grabowksi, Ph.D., on a segment called BronxTalk, regarding the advancements and downfalls of artificial intelligence (AI).

BronxNet is a community station that has been streamed out to all homes in the Bronx since 1993. Many community events, issues and politics that deal with the Bronx are discussed on the channel, while also involving an online presence that provides further outreach.

Manhattan College has developed a close bond with BronxNet over the years, especially with ties between BronxNet and the college’s communication department. Multiple communication students have participated in internships at BronxNet working in their television studios and covering community events with producers and reporters.

pointed me in an entirely new direction that ended up defining my career path.”

The interim dean of the School of Engineering, Anirban De, Ph.D., expressed his congratulations to Kreidenweis and Tabora.

“The election of two Jasper Engineers into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) this year exemplifies the high quality of education at Manhattan College and its School of Engineering,” De said. “The tradition of educating the engineering leaders of tomorrow continues and we are especially proud of the fact that this year’s honorees include one alumni and one current faculty member, indicating that the tradition of excellence continues, when it comes to engineering education at Manhattan.”

MC has also aired some of its programs on BronxNet, including last spring’s panel on how AI has been integrated into various career fields.

As director of the game design and production major and professor in the communication department, AI is something that has concerned Grabowski since its inception, and its more recent takeoff in late 2022 when ChatGPT was introduced. He has brought much discussion on AI to the college’s campus with events like last spring’s panel on AI development in professions such as law, engineering and finance.

“I think the potential of this technology to affect so many disciplines, industries [and] people’s everyday work is pretty vast,” Grabowski said. “I think AI will enhance tasks. There is a human element where AI has a real difficult time replicating, and a lot of creative pursuits AI can sort of mimic, but not really replicate.”

of the various deep fakes Michael Grabowski, Ph.D., developed through ChatGPT’s

Grabowski brought up the example of an AI developed photo of children in a steam powered factory, working on manufacturing cell phones. The image looked like a real photo taken in the early nineteenth century, which is what Grabowski prompted the AI to render.

Grabowski explained how as you use an AI, in this case ChatGPT’s DALL-E image generator, the algorithm is fed and uses this human interaction to understand how to better itself for future use.

When Grabowski asked the program to give him an image of a drawing done by a six-yearold, he found two main flaws: the “race problem,” where it

A main point brought up in the segment was the issue of deep fakes. Deep fakes are the ability of AI to produce fake pictures or manipulate images and videos, usually featuring media based on events that have not occurred.

gave him a white family after he did not mention any race in his prompt, and how it did not understand the realistic capability of the artistic skills of a six-year-old, as it made the image much too sophisticated. After he raised these issues to the AI and asked for another image, it gave him something much more realistic for a sixyear-old.

“You can coach the AI and provide it with feedback, and say ‘this is wrong,’ or ‘I want more of this,’ and you’re actually influencing the algorithm as you do that,” Grabowski said. “It’s learning as you are conversing with it.”

Ryan Miller, a professor at Lehman College in the Bronx, explained how with its rapid development we will not be able to get an immediate handle on AI, but this is not an issue we have not seen before.

“If you see any other technology in history…we’ve never controlled the internet, we can’t control the phone network and keep all the scammers from making phone calls,” Miller said. “I don’t think AI is going to be the first time we ever as a society say, ‘Oh, this time we have solved [this] using this technology’.”

The segment ended with a discussion on the politics of this new technology, from AI campaign phone calls being made, which has been a tactic even before recent AI advancements, and deep fakes in the media during election season.

“Everyone needs to have a little bit of media literacy,” Grabowski said. “[Everyone needs to] understand how images are produced.”

Maddy Radion, a game design and computer science double major, hopes to someday use her degree to work for a video game company. With rapid advancements in AI, she spoke to The Quadrangle about how she thinks it might affect her future career.

“I’m not nervous. I’m intrigued,” Radion said. “I found it very interesting that some developers have been using AI to further games in an interesting way…but it can’t replace the real artists and actual workers.”

Jose E. Tabora, Ph.D. @MANHATTANEDU / X

Sonia Kreidenweis, Ph.D. @MANHATTANEDU / X

Mary

Asst. Features Editor/Social Media Editor

One

DALL •E program. MICHAEL GRABOWKSI / COURTESY

The WGRC Research and Mentorship Program Awarded $10,000 Grant

The Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC) Research and Mentorship Program was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). This grant allows femaleidentifying students and faculty to engage and research topics related to gender and sexuality justice.

The vision for the WGRC Research and Mentorship program came about from assistant professor of the electrical and computer engineering department, Wafa Elmannai, Ph.D. She then brought the idea to associate professor and chair of the previous modern languages and literature department, Evelyn Scaramella, Ph.D.

Elmannai’s hope for the program was to create a female research program that allowed female-identifying students to experience “intellectual exhilaration” through research collaborations and mentoring opportunities.

“It was fortunate that I could discuss this idea with Dr. Scaramella, former director of the WGRC, and we together expanded the concept to include all other MC fields: liberal arts, education, engineering, business, science, and health professions,” Elmannai said. “I therefore consider my experience at the WGRC to be extremely valuable. Having the opportunity to meet women who work in different fields of study but have common goals and objectives, such as research and education, is a wonderful experience. It has been a very beneficial experience for me both personally and professionally.”

The student-faculty pairings for the program are:

@MC_WGRC

BSU’s Black Table Talk Discusses Intersectionality and Women in Power

Barbara Vasquez & Catherine Diakou

Asst. Production Editor & Staff Writer

Manhattan College’s Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a Black Table Talk event on March 5, focusing particularly on black women, as an homage to the end of Black History Month in February and the beginning of Women’s History Month in March.

“Originally, we had expected to do it during Black History Month (BHM) but due to scheduling conflicts, it was not working,” BSU member and attendee of the event, Cornelia Eboh, wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Then, we had the idea of doing it during Women’s History Month and making it an opportunity to highlight black women. I feel like this was such a great move because it gave us the opportunity to create an event where influential black women were being spotlighted and could discuss deep and thought-provoking issues.”

Laurah Perrin, co-president of the BSU, also spoke on the reasons for hosting the Black Table Talk.

“This event, the Black Table Talk, is one of our firsts… this semester we really wanted to do things that incentivize the voices of students, specifically the black female voices, and the black male voices,” Perrin said.

Many impressive conversations were had throughout the length of the event, with the panelists offering insight, discussion points and the audience asking thought-provoking questions.

Courtney Bryant, Ph.D., brought many insightful points to the table. She contributed to the conversation about the reality of existing as a black woman in society. “The part of the dignity of being a human being is getting to determine what you do, what happens to your body, who has access to it, how you make your living– the various things that we can do throughout life,” Bryant said. “And for some of us those decisions are compromised by who we are and the freedoms that people believe we should have.”

Kendall Clark furthered the conversation, bringing into question how black women fit into capitalist culture.

“When you get to that success point, you are still a black woman,” Clark said. “How are you going to exist in the capitalist space when they never intended for you to be there at all?”

Cleanna Cardoza, one of the event coordinators for BSU, spoke highly of each of the panelists and their contributions and shared her thoughts on the outcome of the event as a whole.

BSU event coordinators introduce the panelists at the Black Table Talk. CATHERINE

DIAKOU / THE QUADRANGLE

hosting and the opportunities he offered the audience to connect with the panelists.

Angela Meister and Katharine Wheeler, Ph.D. (Revitalizing Reading: A Study of Literature Choices in High School Classrooms), Cassidy Recio and Ricardo Dello Buono, Ph.D. (Criminalization of Femicide in Costa Rica), Damaris Rincon and Lydia Crafts, Ph.D. (New York City’s Migrant Crisis: Unraveling the Failure to Assist Migrants), Jessica Coyle and Kimberly Fairchild, Ph.D. (The Psychological Needs of Experienced Versus Anticipated Victims of Street Harassment) and Qiwei Li and Wafa Elmannai, Ph.D. (Cloud Computing Adoption and Impact in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

faculty member that they had in their undergraduate years. Manhattan College prides itself on being a university that mentors relationships with faculty with excellent education and we wanted to increase opportunities for sustained collaboration between students and faculty around research practices.”

lot for students and faculty associated with the program as it has allowed students to expand their research to levels that they have not imagined.

“It’s critical,” Scaramella said about the faculty-student mentorship. “Many professors will tell you that they landed in the field that they’re currently in and are doing it because of a close relationship with a

Recio, a senior sociology student in the program, is researching femicide in Costa Rica. Her research began because of a final assignment she had in her sociology class. This research is especially important to her as she is from Costa Rica. The grant has meant a

“What [the grant] means to me mainly is that I like that we’re getting the resources needed that maybe the school is not able to provide right now for women specifically, and especially in topics like this [femicide] that aren’t topics as mainstream as other topics would be,” Recio said. “Now we all have this more specific kind of research that we can do with the help of faculty members too. It’s such an incredible opportunity to even be part of it.”

“Supporting my community is a dream come true for me,” Elmannai said. “I am grateful for the support of the AAUW. In addition to being encouraging for me, this should also be an encouragement for students and faculty at MC … it is also an opportunity for students to plan, carry out an investigation, analyze their results, and present their findings to the MC community in a research forum. Having the opportunity to support our MC female students and colleagues is a great pleasure for me.”

Hosting the event was vice president of Student Life Ronald Gray, Ph.D., whom Perrin shared played a big role in the BSU.

“We’re very thankful for Dr. Gray because even as he moderated the event today, he’s definitely pushed as far as he can, to promote and allow us to have that space and be able to push out events and get it going as best as we can,” Perrin said.

Panelists included

Courtney Bryant, Ph.D., Kendall Clark, Tyla Rae Boone and Hyllary Jean-Baptiste who led the discussion covering topics regarding the struggles black women face in today’s society.

“I thought it [the table talk] did an awesome job at highlighting black women’s voices due to the panelists we selected,” Cardoza said. “They had a lot of real things to say, a lot of facts and wisdom to bring to the table. As for the event being successful overall, the numbers could have been higher, but everyone who attended participated in different ways, whether it was by engaging in conversation, asking the panelists questions, or even sharing their own opinions. It was good, but of course, we’re always looking for better.”

Chidinma Dike, the other event coordinator for BSU, shared some of her feelings on the panelists and their insights.

“I didn’t expect them to

really go in-depth with some of the answers,” Dike said. “When I first heard some of their responses, I was like ‘Wow, I didn’t even think about that.’ I just did not expect them to answer so well.”

Cardoza, on the other hand, told The Quadrangle about her confidence in the panelists, knowing their backgrounds.

“I was expecting a powerful discussion, whether we had a huge turnout or not,” Cardoza said. “Just knowing the way that Dr. Bryant teaches and from knowing Kendall [Clark] personally, I just know that they have a lot to share. They know a lot and they’re willing to give that advice or share their experiences, or provide any information that needs to be shared.”

Eboh agreed with Cardoza, attesting to the panelists’ wisdom and accrediting Gray for his

“All of our panelists are so knowledgeable and highly qualified that I couldn’t help but eagerly nod to every single one of their responses,”

Eboh wrote. “Dr. Gray gave an opportunity for people in the audience to add their own input as well. This allowed for a more interactive talk and made it more like a conversation rather than a lecture.”

The Black Table Talk brought to light issues both among and against the black community, especially black women.

Bryant ended the talk by speaking about intersectionality, leaving the audience with much to think about.

“Start harnessing that privilege for those who may not have it,” Bryant said.

“That requires really honest conversations where we’re not just talking about the differences between us, but how our oppressions intersect and how we can begin to work together- not to exploit one another, but to work together and to see us all be free.”

Isaiah Rosario Sports Editor

Students and faculty standing for a photo at the first Research and Mentorship Program cohort meeting.

/ INSTAGRAM

Manhattan College SAAC Collaborates With Make-A-Wish Fundraiser in Van Cortlandt Park

Elizabeth Kalaj Web Editor

This semester, Manhattan College’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is collaborating with the MakeA-Wish foundation to host a fundraising event at Van Cortlandt Park on April 20.

Kristyn Smith, community service chair of SAAC, and Lydia Gialluca, secretary of SAAC, spoke about how this collaboration came to be.

The connection between the two organizations started this past summer when the MakeA-Wish foundation reached out to former SAAC advisors in hopes of having campus and community connections in all five boroughs. After consulting with Make-A-Wish several times, the executive board of SAAC decided to utilize Van Cortlandt Park as their venue.

The event will consist of a general walk around the main circular track in Van Cortlandt Park and having several vendors present along with Make-A-Wish alumni who can share their experience with the program. In addition, all sports teams will be present and participating in the walk.

Nicolette Caneda, vice president of SAAC, shared a bit about what this collaboration is and what the event means to her.

“I think Make-A-Wish is the perfect organization to do an event with since we all grew up hearing about them,” Caneda said. “So getting to bring this organization to campus was pretty cool.”

This collaboration resonates personally with Smith, as she explained to The Quadrangle that she knows a few people who have had wishes granted by Make-AWish, so she was excited to work with the organization to give back to a community that she is familiar with.

“I know a few people who have had wishes granted, so when we were given this opportunity to work with them, I jumped on it immediately,” Smith said. “We do want to give back to the community, we want to give back to something

greater than ourselves. I think by going into the Riverdale community and even just in the greater [metropolitan] New York area, it’s a great opportunity to get the word out about Make-A-Wish.”

Due to the high publicity towards the Make-A-Wish foundation, members of the SAAC executive committee believe that the impact made from this fundraising event will reach far and wide.

“I think we are very lucky to be in the positions that we are in,” Caneda said. “We are all division one athletes here and I think, whether we know it or not, a lot of young kids probably think that is something cool and to look up to. We hope to lead by example and get as much participation in our community as possible for this great cause.”

Gialluca explained the importance of SAAC to her and its mission.

“I have been on the Board of SAAC for the last two years because making sure that

student-athlete voices are heard on campus is very important to me along with being part of something that is greater than myself,” Gialluca said. “Some of the opportunities I have had through SAAC are things I had never dreamed I would get the opportunity to do in college.”

This event will be open to all, including people from the Manhattan College and Riverdale communities.

SAAC’s executive board hopes to get as many people involved and participating as possible.

In the future, SAAC hopes to collaborate with more organizations to create broader community service events to involve campuses outside of the athletic community.

“We are super excited for April 20,” Gialluca said. “And we hope to see as many people there as we possibly can get.”

Editor’s note: Mary Haley, Asst. Features editor and social media editor, contributed to reporting for this story.

Make-A-Wish Logo

Annual Women’s Retreat: An Opportunity for Women at MC to Come Together and Connect

Maizy Swift Production Editor/Asst. A&E Editor

On the weekend of March 2, Manhattan College’s female students, as well as campus minister Jubilee Aguilar, attended the annual Women’s Retreat in Goshen, New York.

This retreat welcomes all students who identify as female to come together for a bonding experience embracing womanhood as well as reflecting and relaxing.

“The overall goal of the women’s retreat is having an area to talk about their feelings, and just be without the presence of masculine energy,” Aguilar said. “It’s open to anybody who’s identified as a woman.”

Each year, students are accompanied by student leaders who run exercises for the groups to do. This year in particular, many of the activities were focused on selfexpression and reflection.

“This year, we happened to

do a lot of very artsy workshops that did a lot of reflection on who we are and how we see ourselves,” Aguilar said. “So one of the activities was making paper mache bowls and you call them your blessing bowls so you can write good affirmation things that happened during the day [and] during the week and you put them in the blessing bowl.”

Unlike other events hosted in the Social Action Suite, the women’s retreat is meant purely for taking a moment for

oneself.

“One of my students, she likes to go on this retreat, specifically, because it gives her a chance after midterms to just take a pause and I think that’s something that everybody’s mental health needs,” Aguilar said.

Litzy Ivon Rincon Robles, a senior psychology student at MC, went on the retreat as a student leader.

Ivon Rincon Robles explained how this retreat can be helpful to students not just

for their mental health, but also for finding new friends and leaders to guide them.

“To have someone by your side as an upperclassman, especially since college for newer students is difficult the first year, having someone that you can relate to can be a big advantage,” Ivon Rincon Robles said.

For Ivon Rincon Robles, this year as a student leader was special in particular as she was able to go with women she has grown to know.

“This year what made it special is that I knew a bunch of the participants, so I got closer to them and was able to have fun with them in a stress-free nonschool related environment,” Ivon Rincon Robles said.

Aaliyah Dyer, a sophomore biology student at MC, also went as a student leader on the retreat. However, unlike the other leaders, this was her first time attending a retreat.

“Being around a full group of women and not having to worry about the pressures of college and the pressures of performing in class and companionship, I really felt like I knew all those girls for a whole year, and it was my first time meeting 90% of them, but it was just such an amazing moment,” Dyer said.

In the future, Dyer would enhance her leadership skills by bringing women together more often.

“We all at some points would talk to each other but I felt like there were some moments where we would kind of go off into what we thought was comfortable,” Dyer said.

“So I would make sure that everybody’s mixing up their conversation just so that you get to really talk to other people that you may not have talked to on the campus.”

The Manhattan College Campus Ministry and Social

Active Suite offers multiple retreats each year for MC students to foster their growth and mental health in a safe, group environment. The annual Women’s Retreat is an opportunity for any Manhattan College student who identifies as female to take advantage of by joining or becoming a leader.

Dyer told The Quadrangle what she hopes students take away from the retreat.

“A stronger sense in yourself, a lot of the activities that we did, they were kind of reflecting and just thinking about elements in your life or things that you could work on or something that you’re proud of in that moment,” Dyer said.

2023-2024 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. GOJASPERS/COURTESY

Students bond at women’s retreat @MC_CMSA INSTAGRAM/ COURTESY

Students from MC attended annual women’s retreat. @MC_CMSA INSTAGRAM/ COURTESY

MC’s International Women’s Day Event: More Than Just Flowers

Matty Schule & Emmanouel Sofillas Staff Writer & Asst. Sports Editor

In honor of International Women’s Day on Friday March 8, the Alpha Pi Phi (APP) sorority hosted an event with various clubs and organizations on campus to help fundraise for The Rise Of Broken Women.

The Rise Of Broken Women is a charity organization which works to provide women and families in the homeless shelters of NYC necessary resources and tools to help them move up and out of the cycle of poverty.

“They donate essential necessities to homeless women like period products, and APP is selling yellow flowers for $2 to raise money for the organization” philanthropy chair of APP Chiara Giambroni said.

Giambroni is currently a junior at Manhattan College and helped organize and schedule the event alongside the many other clubs who participated.

“Chiara, our philanthropy chair, did a lot of the communication,” president of APP, Jamie Robbins, said. “ [She was] Emailing everyone, making sure everyone was confident and ready to be here today.”

Robbins noted that the initial idea for the fundraiser stemmed from APP’s treasurer Pamela Moleri.

“The idea came from our treasurer, Pam,” Robbins said. “She’s from Italy, and in Italy it’s a tradition that you give a woman a yellow flower on Women’s Day. We noticed that there weren’t too many other organizations on campus who really celebrated International Women’s day like that, so we thought it would be a great thing to bring to our campus.”

In Italy, yellow flowers are given to women as a sign of sisterhood, support, love, friendship and togetherness.

“This is something that we try to do yearly on Women’s Day, we try to get all the clubs together and give everyone the chance to really show some appreciation for and to the women in their lives,” Robbins said.

One of the fraternities on

MC’s Mock Trial Team Competes in the National Stage at Princeton University

After being present for a little over a year on campus, Manhattan College’s Mock Trial team has developed a fast-growing membership and received many opportunities, including competing at the national level. These competitions have brought MC head to head with some of the most prestigious universities in the country.

Junior accounting major Anthony Campolo is the current president of the team and guided The Quadrangle through the team’s success since becoming an organization on campus.

campus, Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE), helped raise money with “Pie a DKE” where students could pay to shove a pie in the face a fraternity member. The other campus sorority, Sigma Delta Tau (SDT), was also helping to raise money through a bake sale of assorted desserts and cookies.

The Rainbow Jaspers also had a table set up and were raising money through selling playing cards, stickers and LGBTQIA+ flags and memorabilia. A member of the Rainbow Jaspers, Analia Santana, shared her thoughts on the importance of recognizing International Women’s Day through campus events like this.

“It’s important to celebrate women every single day because women are what bring life into this world,” Santana said. “For centuries, and still to this day, women face the brunt of so much injustice. On days like today, we have to uplift women and recognize all the

hard work that they do.”

For those unable to attend APP’s International Women’s Day event this year on the quad and are interested in donating

to The Rise of Broken Women, it’s never too late to help out.

“It’s really important we’re raising money here and I think it’s also something that’s

very Lasallian and reflects the school’s mission to help those in need,” Santana said.

“Mock trial allows you to read a case, pick it apart on your account, and test your knowledge of it not just in a small classroom setting and practices but also during competitions where we get to test out those theories and strategies,” Campolo said. “[Mock trial] really thrives on the student body’s passion and dedication. This is an extracurricular activity. Students aren’t getting paid or a grade. They’re simply doing it out of motivation and joy.”

A few weeks ago, the MC’s Mock Trial team competed in their first national tournament at Princeton University in New Jersey. Campolo says the tournament was a step up from last year when they first started.

“Last year, we went to Connecticut, to a college I’ve never heard of, but now we’re going to Princeton,” Campolo said. “This year, we’ve also had scrimmages with Fordham, Iona and NYU.”

Campolo has been involved with mock trials since his sophomore year of high school. He says the comparisons between the high school and college levels range from what cases are covered to the specific details that go into pulling them apart.

“College is much harder,” Campolo said. “In high school, you’re pre-assigned a case with witnesses and charges that the prosecution is going to go after but in college, it’s all fair game. They give you a list of different

charges and you could select from a pool of witnesses. You have to be prepared to crossexamine, as an attorney, any of those witnesses and prepare a bunch of stuff that you may not even use.”

Campolo took on many roles last year and hopes to encourage more engagement from MC students going forward.

“When we started last year, nobody on the team had done a mock trial before, not even in high school,” Campolo said.

“I was the only person with the experience, so I took on the roles of marketer for the club to get people interested, treasurer to get the funds and more importantly, coach to coach everybody.”

Campolo was able to focus on his appointed attorney position this past semester because of the trust he has formed for his fellow teammates, especially those who are in their second term of the team, and their appointed coach Adriane Bilous, Ph.D., who is also the assistant director of the Center for Graduate School and Fellowship Advisement.

“At the mock trial, at the

very least, you’re developing a good public speaking skill that is developed only here,” Campolo said. “You must formulate questions for witnesses on the spot, which helps develop a thinking-onyour-toes mentality and a self-advocacy and advocacy of others.”

Sophomores Nathalia Villafuerte, a political science major, and Gabrielle Blair, a double major in philosophy and political science, act on the club’s defense attorney team during trials.

“I’ve been an attorney for the past two years and what we do is write all of the examinations and get assigned opening or closing statements or another examination,” Villafuerte said. “We all just split up the work so that we each have at least one witness that we’re doing a direct examination with, and usually, it’s one or two people that we have to prepare crossexamination for.”

Villafuerte explained the process of examining the cases.

“We’ve been working on the case since winter break,” Villafuerte said. “And then early on in the semester, we

did scrimmages with other schools which helped us look at objections to our questions and what we need to pay closer attention to.”

Blair talked to The Quadrangle about some of the common mistakes attorneys can make and how she manages to finish rounds strong.

“One of the biggest flaws with an attorney in which the judges will comment all the time is to not show your emotions and if you’re freaking out inside,” Blair said. “Learning how to showcase that you’re confident in your argument or idea when you might not be is really difficult to do, but also something that’s needed to be successful. I like to remember to take a deep breath and get everything under control. Also just looking the judge or the witness in the eyes shows that you have some sort of confidence.”

While the season might be over for the mock trial team, there are still many benefits to joining.

“If you’re interested in law school, at the very least, even if you’re just considering it, you can decide here if you

like it to avoid the costly and timely mistake of applying and paying tuition to go,” Campolo said. “ If you’re an actor and you want to work on improv skills, you could be a witness and you could play a character that you’re given, and have to perform as that character. Additionally, even if you’re just somebody who wants to meet new people, work on their public speaking skills or work on their advocacy skills, this is the club for you.”

Leaders of the Alpha Pi Phi Sorority Pose for a photo in front of the table where they sold the yellow flowers. MATTY SCHULE/ THE QUADRANGLE

Members of the Rainbow Jaspers pose for a photo at their table.

MATTY SCHULE/ THE QUADRANGLE

Angelina Perez Arts and Entertainment Editor/ Engagement Editor

Manhattan College Mock Trial Team at the National Competition hosted at Princeton University. O’MALLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS LINKEDIN / COURTESY

arts & eNtertaiNmeNt

Pipes and Drums: Parading and Dancing to Celebrate Irish Heritage Month

Lauren Raziano Senior Writer

The New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is the oldest and largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world, in which Manhattan College’s Pipes and Drums band has been spreading Irish culture and cheer since 1981.

Throughout the school year, Pipes and Drums performs at several parades, including Memorial Day parades in Mineola, White Plains, Throggs Neck, Eastchester, and most notably, many St. Patrick’s Day parades.

With a large assembly of both students and alumni, Jasper pride is evident in the Pipes and Drums ensemble. Alumni members are a large part of what makes Pipes and Drums great, as many other college bands do not allow students to join the band after graduation.

Alumni member Dan Maher has been a piper since 2007. He began learning to play the pipes with the band in his junior year and marched in his first parade in his senior year. Since then, Maher has been an active alumnus, participating in marches and encouraging students to come to Manhattan College.

“As a result of being a part of the band, my connection to Manhattan College has remained much stronger since I graduated than it would have been otherwise,” Maher wrote in an email to The Quadrangle.

“We are great ambassadors for the college. Our playing all over the New York metropolitan area gives Manhattan exposure to new students who may consider attending.”

One of Maher’s favorite experiences with Pipes and Drums is when he marches along Fifth Ave with the Jaspers.

“Each parade has its own special moments, but nothing beats marching out onto Fifth Avenue and playing as we march past St. Patrick’s Cathedral or as we play for the TV cameras and the reviewing stand. It makes you feel proud,” Maher wrote.

Maher is proud to be a part of an organization that maintains a sense of community, friendship and fun.

“We are a fantastic group who love to have fun while we play and have a good time after the parades,” Maher wrote.

“The band fosters friendships. It’s also great to play for people at events and celebrations and it helps some of us earn extra money on the side as we also play at various Manhattan school functions like graduation and new students day.”

Last year, MC Pipes and Drums won first place in the category “High School and College Pipe Bands.” Maher was asked how the group has maintained that status this season.

“First, by maintaining a strong practice schedule. We practice together once a week on Thursday nights,” Maher wrote. “Second, by continuing to foster an educational spirit within the band that encourages and supports younger members’ desires to learn more about playing the pipes, trying new tunes, becoming better players, and the culture of piping. Third, by holding ourselves to a high standard.”

Pipes and Drums can provide interested students

with free materials and instruments to motivate new members to join.

“The band is unique in that we accept all who wish to learn to play,” Maher wrote. “No experience is required and we teach all new players completely free of charge. We also provide them with their own learning materials, practice chanter, and even a first set of bagpipes to learn on, all free of charge; this is not done in other bands outside of academic institutions. This practice is huge for keeping the tradition of piping alive at Manhattan and for making piping accessible to all.”

Senior Kevin McGoldrick has been a band member since the beginning of his junior year and now plays the bagpipes.

“When I started at the beginning of my junior year, I sought something from Manhattan that would have a major impact on my life,”

McGoldrick wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Pipes and Drums allowed me to join in one of New York City’s great traditions: the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Together with the school, it is the largest and most visible display of the school’s impact on New York City.”

He continued about Manhattan College’s consistent turnout at the parade every year.

“After watching years of St. Patrick’s parades from the sidelines and seeing how Manhattan was one of the largest contingents on Fifth Ave, I decided that learning how to play the bagpipes would be the coolest thing I could do,” McGoldrick wrote. “We do a great job of reminding people that Jaspers are everywhere.”

Junior civil engineering major Brendan Keane is in his third year as a member of Pipes and Drums as a snare drummer.

“I am a snare drummer, who was lead tip during most of the parades so far including NYC,” Keane wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “The best moment of these past performances would be when we round the corner onto Fifth Avenue and hear the pipes echo off the buildings. Also when the parade is over the day has just begun where you walk around the city playing or taking pictures with people, making their day.”

One of the positions in Pipes and Drums is the “pipe major” who leads the marches.

“Richie Niccolich is our pipe major so he calls out tunes and signals when we stop,” Keane wrote. “Richie gave John Howard [President of Pipes and Drums] one tune to call out during the march on Fifth Ave as well and I was drum sergeant so I was leading the rest of the drummers and watching the signal to stop

Performing Arts Students Celebrate Annual Formal Under the Starry Night

Grace Cardinal Editor-in-Chief

from Richie. The positions are chosen on experience and are usually the upperclassmen in the band.”

The Pipes and Drums group is very welcoming to new members, especially those willing to learn a new musical instrument. Keane shared his experience learning the drumlines.

“I would encourage students to join the band,” Keane wrote. “I joined my freshman year with no drumming experience and was able to play in all the parades the following March. If you don’t join the band, marching with the Gaelic Society is just as fun.”

Even students who are not part of Pipes and Drums walk along Fifth Avenue with friends and family. Junior Ana McCabe, the treasurer of the Gaelic society, was able to hold up one of the Manhattan College signs during the parade.

“My best memory from Gaelic Society was marching in the St. Patricks Day parade for the first time last year. It was such a new experience for me and was so much fun to do,” McCabe said. “This year I got to hold one of the marching banners. When holding one of the march signs, it is usually the E-Board of the Gaelic Society and any member that is around during the parade when we need more people to hold the signs.”

Manhattan College’s Pipes and Drums reflect the institution’s Irish Heritage and diversity.

“The band is a great reflection of the diversity of the school,” Maher wrote. “We have people of all backgrounds in the band and it’s wonderful to see. The band helps to celebrate Manhattan’s Irish heritage and keep us connected to that community, but it welcomes all and we are very proud of that.”

Last Friday marked the fifth annual Performing Arts Formal in Higgins Atrium. Decorated to match the theme of starry night, students danced the night away enjoying food, music and performances from their peers.

“It’s just a great opportunity for people to get together who are like-minded,” Andrew Bauer, director for performing arts, said. “It’s nice that we can have this event where they [students] can all be together and socialize because music is a very social art form.”

New to the event this year were performances by the students involved in the various groups.

“This year, we decided that there would be some performances by the students, casual impromptu performances,” Bauer said. “We’re going to do a couple of scenes from the musical Dogfight that’s coming up, and our small jazz group is going to play a little bit.”

The addition of performances was well

received by the students in attendance.

“We picked some ensembles that could be easily performed for us in small groups, which is awesome,” Keira Rheinheimer, freshman performing arts student, said. “I think it’s a great idea because we get to see it [the performances] and there’s live music playing right now.”

The event proves to be popular amongst students each year, with a large portion of the students involved with the performing arts department attending with their plus-ones.

“Everybody who’s in the performing arts goes to this,” Bauer said. “They can bring somebody like a date, that person doesn’t have to be in the performing arts, but a date or a friend. In terms of numbers, we get at least 200 people coming out for this, it’s a large group of people.”

The formal planning takes over a month, and it involves securing a venue, catering, music and more.

“Every year gets easier because it kind of runs itself,” Bauer said. “We have a formula that makes it work really nicely, but you need a good six weeks to get things together.”

Attendees looked on as various groups performed at the formal.

Just as students are involved with the planning process, they are involved with the event’s setup as well.

“This year is a little different for me because I helped set this one up,” Landen Scofield, a junior performing arts member, said. “Compared to last year, I had nothing to do with that. It was a little nicer to be behind the scenes and have more control of a different theme. We try to change it up a little bit every year.”

The event strives to give students a unique experience each year, making each formal memorable in its own way.

“I think every year, they want to make it somewhat different,” Scofield said. “We had a photo booth one year and another year we had a dance floor and just different venues that we’ve had it in. We’re doing it in the Higgins Center in the atrium there...it’s a beautiful space. We just want to have something unique every year.”

Rheinheimer said that the event’s popularity pushes those involved with planning to make the formal surpass even the highest of expectations.

“We’ve been saying, ‘We’ve got to have high standards for this year’ so that next year goes even better, and hopefully they’ll [the school] give us enough money to make it as good as possible,” Rheinheimer said. “I know a lot of people have gone to this event in the past, so I hope that keeps up. I think this is great that it’s still a popping event and I want it to stay that way.”

Scofield said that in the future, he hopes even more people will attend the event.

“I would love to see more people honestly just come in, have fun, [and] bring their friends,” Scofield said. “People in the performing arts just have a fun time.”

Manhattan College’s Pipes and Drums band. @MANHATTANEDU / INSTAGRAM

Manhattan College’s Pipes and Drum band performed in the 262nd NYC St. Patrick’s day parade. @MANHATTANEDU/ INSTAGRAM

GRACE CARDINAL/ THE QUADRANGLE

Members of Manhattones performed a song for the attendees of the formal to kick off the event.

GRACE CARDINAL/ THE QUADRANGLE

Coffee House Serves Up A Night of Music

Anna Segota Staff Writer

Coffee House, a monthly event where talented performers in the Manhattan College community come together to showcase their skills in an intimate venue, held another successful performance the Thursday night before students left for spring break.

Juniors Matt Regaldo and Jill Tuthill host the event monthly in Thomas Hall. While most Coffee House events have previously occurred in Cafe 1812, towards the end of last semester, all of them were set in Thomas 5.17, a space used by many music groups on campus due to its easy access to instruments and other necessities.

For some attendees, it was their first Coffee House. Some students came to support their friends and roommates, while others came after seeing different postings for Coffee

House, both around campus and online.

“I like seeing others’ talents, especially because I only sing with big groups, like during Singers here at MC,” freshman Mary-Kate Palaremo said. “I’m also here to see my roommate perform and support her great talents.”

While Palaremo initially told The Quadrangle that she was just there to show her support and enjoy the music, she found herself singing alongside Coffee House regular Melanie Johnson by the end of the night.

“It was a welcoming environment,” Palermo said. “My friends were really pushing me to go, and I wanted to face my fears because performing in front of people, by myself, is not something I normally do. So, I just decided to do it.”

Some notable performances included William Reed, a member of Pipes and Drums, who gave the audience a sample of the drumming they do with the group. Another was the band Help Wanted,

The

which played an original song in its first live performance. The band is composed of four members: John Devaney, Lucia Kobayashi, Ben Domingo and Alex Parra.

“It’s a super cool forum to step back and listen,” Kobayashi said. “We can hear other musicians at MC, and they can hear us. It’s cool.”

The band is one of many who perform at Coffee House each month. Many of these bands also come together to play other on-campus shows, occasionally in association with WRCM.

While Reglado and Tuthill are the main hosts of Coffee House, other students from MC help set up the equipment and ensure the event runs smoothly such as junior Landen Scofield.

“I love Coffee House because it gives a lot of people opportunities,” Scofield said. “Opportunities not just to sing and recite poetry, but to

Women’s Basketball Crushes Iona Before MAACs Championships

Karen Flores Staff Writer

Women’s basketball took a thrilling win against Iona, ending with a score of 66-56 with the team ramping it up during the second half.

The Gaels began the first quarter with an eight-point lead against the Lady Jaspers, later broken when Leyla Ozturk hit a jump shot. The Jaspers pushed their way up to a score of 14-16 at the end of the first quarter with another jump shot from Ozturk.

The score bounced back and forth in the second quarter with the Gaels and Lady Jaspers fighting for the lead.

The Lady Jaspers finally took the lead for the first time in the game when Ines Gimenez Monserrat brought the score to 22-21. The lead was short-lived as the Gaels crept up and took the lead back with a score of 27-26 at the end of the second quarter.

Heading into the second half, the Lady Jaspers did not let up as they were able to keep the lead to single digits for the majority of the third quarter.

The score was tied at 4040 during the last minute and thirty seconds of the quarter, but the Lady Jaspers worked against the Gaels’ offense scoring four points within the time frame and ending with a score of 44-40.

The Lady Jaspers trampled the Gaels’ defensive tactics within the last quarter and triumphantly left the court with a ten-point lead.

The leaders of the game were Petra Juric, a junior forward with 20 points and six rebounds, as well as Jade Blagrove, a senior forward with six assists.

Juric praised her teammates in a post-game interview and said that communication has been a point of focus as they work towards improving.

“We’re happy with how our communication has grown as it has been a point of focus for us,” Juric said. “It was a tough game, we knew we had to fight for a win going into next week’s tournament and we wanted to start off feeling good and confident.”

Anne Bair, a sophomore guard, was happy with the team’s overall performance.

have a stage, a small intimate setting, so people can express themselves.”

Many performers are part of on-campus clubs such as Manhattones and Jazz Band, though Coffee House creates a unique opportunity for those who don’t usually play in such a venue.

“Coffee House brings together people who aren’t necessarily members of campus music groups, and they can come out and play music and meet other people who they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to meet before,” junior Mark Dusovic said. “So I think it’s pretty great.”

Coffee House continues to flourish as more and more people come out each month to watch and listen. The hosts of Coffee House plan to continue holding this special event, with a few more dates to be announced before the end of this semester.

“I love being on this team because we share the ball and we try to get the best shot and not only a good shot but a great one,” Bair said. “I believe we did that in today’s game. We facilitated the ball well. There were lots of assists and that’s the way we want to play and I think it’s gonna give us a lot of confidence going into next week.”

Nitzan Amar, a junior guard, said that this game’s

gave her more confidence going into the tournament.

“The tournament is going to be tough but I believe in us and we believe in ourselves,”

Amar said. “I like this atmosphere where you can hear the fans cheer you on so we are excited for the chance to show what we can do.”

Bair hopes that the Lady Jaspers can bring home the MAAC championship this year.

“We couldn’t be more excited and our coaches are saying we’re moving there for the week so we don’t plan on just playing one game and going home,” Bair said. “We want to make it to the championship. We made it there two times in a row. So the third time’s the charm and we want to and hope to bring it home this year.”

Editor’s Note: The article was written ahead of the MAAC Championships.

Mary

a

together

The Lady Jaspers posing with middle school basketball members. KAREN FLORES / THE QUADRANGLE atmosphere

The Lady Jaspers during the second half of the game. KAREN FLORES / THE QUADRANGLE

18 Point Men’s Basketball Claims Unanticipated Victory Over the Iona Gaels

Barbara Vasquez & Catherine Diakou Asst. Production Editor & Staff Writer

The Manhattan College Jaspers faced off against the Iona Gaels on March 7 in a riveting showdown, ending with a win for the men’s basketball team.

Iona was able to gain a small 4-point lead over the Jaspers for a part of the first half of the game but lost it quickly and couldn’t get it back. The Jaspers showed out and racked up points for the rest of the game, holding their lead over the Gaels and ending with a score of 77-60.

The Jaspers and Gaels have a long-standing rivalry spanning nearly a century, so this win was especially meaningful to the team and students at Manhattan College, both past and present.

Head coach of the men’s basketball team John Gallagher spoke on his feelings going up against Iona.

“It means something,” Gallagher said. “It means something to the fans. It means something to the alum. If you sit up there and you’re coaching and say it’s just another game–you don’t fare well in those cases. It means more.”

One player in particular, Jaden Winston, stood out throughout the game. Winston played all 40 minutes and ended with an impressive 13 assists and 11 points. He was involved in passes throughout the length of the game and was unarguably an integral part of the team’s victory.

“I know my team, and what [Winston] has done is just fascinating, to tell the truth,” Gallagher said. “He controls the game.”

When asked about how important teamwork and team chemistry were in obtaining the win for the Jaspers, and continuing to play

Jaspers Esports Valorant Team Triumphs in Debut Year, Awaits National Championship

Manhattan College’s Esports team took first place in the MAAC Valorant championships this month against several well-ranked colleges in Atlantic City, NJ. The popularity of competitive gaming has been on the rise over the past few years and the MC Esports team victory has certainly proved this to be true.

Comprised of Michael Lam, Joseph Airo, Marco Bucaj, James Teng, Minh Dong, and Raymond Galvez, the Manhattan College Esports team demonstrated exceptional skill to clinch the MAAC championship title. Despite many other Manhattan College sports teams in a slump, MC Esports seems to be one of the teams on campus finding immense success.

Reflecting on their journey to victory, Airo shared his insights on playing through the championship experience and ultimately winning the competition.

“I was honestly more nervous the first game because we were going on stage to play,” Airo said. “In the finals, it was just easy. I think we were all just accustomed to playing on stage by that point. So we feel we’ve done what we’ve been doing before, and now we have to do it again.”

well throughout the season, Winston spoke highly of his teammates.

“I’m in the gym with these guys every day, I see the work that we’re putting in together,” Winston said. “I have ultimate trust in my guys, day in and day out. Today, we proved we can do it, and we want to keep doing it.”

After such a big win following a tough season, the team plans to use this victory as a starting point to continue playing successfully.

“We have got to continue with it, we have to keep

continuing this momentum, continue to play well, continue to play with each other,”

Gallagher said. “Today is the difference.”

Shaquil Bender, another impressive leader during the game who accumulated 20 points and eight rebounds, added to Gallagher’s point emphasizing togetherness as a key to success.

“We play a lot better when we play together,” Bender said.

During the second half of the game, the Jaspers gained a lead over the Gaels but continued to play as skillfully

and strongly. When asked how the team was able to stay focused and avoid getting comfortable with the lead, Gallagher responded simply.

“We haven’t been here yet so we can’t get comfortable,”

Gallagher said.

Gallagher, who has coached for years, shared that there is more to the game than the players performing well– it’s learning a language.

“We speak our own language,” Gallagher said. “I call things out, and the other coach is like, ‘It’s a play.’ It’s what I want them to see. It’s

learning a language, which they’ve done, and it shows.”

Gallagher went on to explain what about this game was different, leading to a victory among the multitude of losses the team has dealt with during this past season.

“Tonight we made shots, we were in rhythm, we had great balance, we were hard to guard– that’s what we look for,” Gallagher said. “We’re going to have growing pains. When you’re building a program, that happens. But we’re a good ball club and we’re fortunate to win. We shot the ball well tonight.”

When asked about initially starting the new Valorant team at Manhattan, the team shared what it was like recruiting new players.

“There’s two teams, but 30 people came,” Lam said. “We had to cut them off because we could not have this many people. We made them play against each other and had a picture of the better players.”

Now that the MC Esports team has won the MAAC, it has allowed them to qualify for the Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CEEC), which is the national

tournament for college Esports teams. This tournament is expected to take place in early may. “In the CEEC, there are a lot higher seeded teams, probably better teams in general,” Galvez said. “I think we could pull something together which would be really nice.”

As Manhattan College created its first-ever Valorant esports team last semester,

Manhattan College’s Valorant team taking first place at the Atlantic City MAAC Valorant Championship. @MANHATTANEDU INSTAGRAM / COURTESY

the team encountered initial obstacles that they had to overcome to win the title.

“We had some issues during our regular season with people not talking or a lack of being on the same page,” Teng said. “But when we got there, something clicked within all of us. I don’t know what happened but after that we were on point.”

When asked about the most memorable moment of

the tournament, the team had plenty but chose to share their experience in the finals.

“The first match against Quinnipiac, I’ll tell you right now I was a little nervous going into it because we thought these guys are a lot better competition than the other guys who had played before them,” Airo said. “But then we picked up a 13-1 score on the first game and I was feeling

good again. We were just confident after that.”

As they embark on their next tournament in Texas, the members of the Manhattan College Esports team are ready to make their mark on the national stage. With the support of their college, the Jasper Valorant team were able to make phenomenal progress for a team that is still in its debut season.

Shaquil Bender makes a shot against Iona. VINCENT DUSOVIC / COURTESY

Emmanouel Sofillas & Matty Schule

Asst. Sports Editor & Staff Writer