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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume XCIX, Issue 9
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NEW YORK, MARCH 26, 2019
ESPN Trailer for Sports Media Production Concentration Arrives Taylor Brethauer & RikkiLynn Shields Senior Writers
Shark Tank Comes to Campus A total of $5,100 in start-up money was granted to student who competed in the sixth annual Innovation Challenge. MANHATTAN COLLEGE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION / COURTESY
Manhattan College Hosts Annual Innovation Challenge Gabriella DePinho News Editor
Manhattan College students had a chance to participate in a campus version of Shark Tank. The O’Malley School of Business hosted its 6th annual Innovation Challenge on March 12 in which 9 teams competed with original ideas for the chance at $5,000 in startup cash. The event started with a welcome address from Dean Donald Gibson. “It’s a terrific time to see our students bring excellent business ideas to the table... I’m really looking forward to this clash of wills,” said Gibson. While the presentations happened on March 12, this challenge has been a nearly year long time investment from the students. “Everyone should realize the motivation it takes for these students to work on these projects. We launched this in September so a lot of the groups have worked from September, October, November, going to workshops,” said Dean Gibson. The students also competed in a semi-final round in February before their final presentations.
This year, the competition saw nine teams of students participating, making for one of the largest competitions the school has had. Seniors Karthik Maddur, Praise Omnipole, and Kishan Thakurdin placed first in the competition with “QuickMech,” a phone app invented with the purpose of helping the user find better car mechanics. They received a $2500 prize to help kickstart their business. The winning team was goal oriented from the start. “I think one idea we all shared in common was our mindset upon beginning this project, we all knew we wanted something more than just another time consuming school project, we wanted to kick start our dreams to own or manage a company. We came into this with a work mindset,” Omnipole said in an email. When the team found out they won, they were thrilled. Thakurdin said in an email, “We were ecstatic when we found out we won. We knew how hard we worked and how much time we put in so it really was a big accomplishment for us. Personally, I never doubted us and that is the mentality that my team saw and drew from throughout the whole process.” The second place team was
IN FEATURES: Students meet Bill WAGS hosts anWeitz, Congress- nual lecture on man Engel’s Chief intersectionality on p. 7 of Staff on p. 5
IN NEWS:
comprised of seniors Tom Englert, Chris Garritano, Madison Jennings, Tara O’Shea, Gianna Pavone and junior Nicole Miller. They invented “ButtonBlitz,” a toy mostly for children with Down Syndrome that helps develop a child’s motor skills. The team received an award of $1500 so they can patent the toy so they can sell it. ButtonBlitz stemmed from a class project. “The three engineers on the team, Chris Garritano, Tom Englert and myself, were planning on designing a toy for children with Down Syndrome as our senior design project and were trying to work with a business major to get pricing on manufacturing and selling. The business major, Nicole Miller, did a lot of the research into the business innovation contest and spearheaded the work needed to be our best in the competition,” said Pavone in an email. After the team gained education major Tara O’Shea, who saw a need for better toys for children with Down Syndrome, and kinesiology major Madison Jennings, the team was ready to go. “It was amazing [to know __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
The communication department within the School of Liberal Arts has begun preparation for their upcoming sports media production concentration with the installation of an ESPN trailer. On March 6, the ESPN mobile truck arrived onto campus and is currently parked in the Draddy Gymnasium parking lot. This unit will be used as a secondary classroom for students in the Manhattan College communications department to produce live broadcasts for our NCAA Division I sporting events. The concentration has been in the works throughout the past year. The arrival of the mobile truck will serve as a major perk for those wanting handson experience. In the article released by the college, Thom Gencarelli, head of the communication department said, “This mobile production unit is a game changer for our students. It will serve as a lab to give them valuable real-world experience in sports production, while allowing them to advance their education in a wide variety of media.” The sports media production concentration will be added to their current list of concentrations that includes journalism, media production, advertising and public relations. Sports Media Production is currently a 300-level course offered at Manhattan College, and open to communications majors as an elective, but will become a key course as the concentration gains more traction within the major. In this class, students will learn to operate high-definition cameras, learn multi-camera usage, and live production of the events being recorded. Students who are enrolled in the Manhattan College Sports Media Production program have already had the chance to see what is to come
IN A&E:
Laura Sims gives second MARS reading on p. 5
with the new ESPN mobile unit now on campus. Sports Media Production students visited ESPN’s main campus located in Bristol, Connecticut to see the equipment and programs they will soon become familiar with-- including a Ross Carbonite switcher, specific graphics, replays and the audio controls that will be used for a broadcast with 4K capability. In a tweet sent out by @ gojaspers, the athletics department said, “So excited about this milestone in the building of @ManhattanEdu’s #sportsproduction concentration! Can’t wait to see where we go from here! (We swear we won’t drive it without permission).” The goal for this concentration, and the course overall is to get together and train a group of students to serve as Manhattan College’s production crew for athletic events, but specifically mens and womens basketball games. With communications being one of the most popular majors at Manhattan College, the ESPN mobile unit will be a great addition to an ever growing program, and an ever growing era of technology and mass media. One alumnae, Jacqueline Patchen ’11, shared her interest in the mobile unit, commenting, “love seeing this! We should get some Film & TV alumni together to see a game & check out the set up!” Many alumni shared the same sentiments and praising the college on the new advancement for students. With students already having had internships and now, full time jobs with companies such as CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Fox News, The New York Times and more, the sports media production major is only adding to the growth of the communication students knowledge and opportunity within the job industry. The ESPN mobile unit will be used to produce live coverage of sporting events beginning in the 2019-2020 basketball season.
IN SPORTS:
Manhattan baseball battles Fordham on p. 8
Opinions & Editorials
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the Quadrangle Volume XCIX, Issue 9 MARCH 26, 2019
The Editorial Board Megan Dreher Editor-in-Chief
Gabriella DePinho News Editor
Joseph Liggio Maria Thomas Asst. News Editors
Alexa Schmidt Features Editor Managing Editor
Katherine Heneghan Asst. Features Editor
Rose Brennan Arts & Entertainment Editor Managing Editor
Madalyn Johnson Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor
C. Garrett Keidel Sports Editor
Pete Janny Asst. Sports Editor
Lauren Schuster Social Media Editor
Brian Asare Photography Editor
Alyssa Velazquez Production Manager Sophia Sakellariou Samantha Walla Production Editors
Nicole Rodriguez Asst. Production Editor
Michevi Dufflart August Kissel Web Editors
Abby Crowell Distribution Manager
Nicholas Gilewicz Faculty Advisor
Letter From Hi Jaspers!
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
The Editor
Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you all had a relaxing week, and are ready to tackle the second half of the spring semester. Time seems to be flying; I can’t believe how quickly the semester has gone by! We have a lot of great things to look forward to in the upcoming weeks. First off, we have our satire edition of The Quadrangle, “The Triangle,” coming to print next week. I absolutely love this issue, as it gives our journalists some creative freedom while addressing important happenings in our world. It’s like the Saturday Night Live of journalism! We also have our special issue coming out later in April. This semester, we’ve decided to cover “The Generational Issue,” which is something so unique and can be addressed in so many different ways! I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. Enjoy this first week back from break, and we’ll chat again soon!
Sincerely,
Megan Dreher
Editor-in-Chief
Juliet Papa:
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 QUADRANGLE
A Woman’s History Month Icon Haley Burnside Senior Writer
Two weeks ago, I had the honor of attending an event on campus in which the esteemed Juliet Papa of 1010 WINS spoke to students involved with news reporting, radio, and social media. In the hour-long conversation she had with us, each sentence seemed chock-full of information and advice that could help us in our future careers. As the event went on, it became impossible to find a single “most important” takeaway from such a successful woman. In the last five minutes, however, one moment stood out above the rest. When answering a question about how she handles reporting on tough stories, Papa recounted how she once covered the suicide of a NYPD officer. As she talked through her experience interviewing his loved ones, her voice broke. She took a breath, steadied herself, and continued speaking. While she spoke, tears formed in her eyes, and one spilled over onto her face. She
explained how powerful a story can be when it encapsulates the true human elements of the issue-- all while she wiped tears from her face. That moment is not one that I will soon forget. As a woman who has spent my college career working in news media and trying to build a career, I have heard too often that it is no place for emotion. Specifically, women trying to make it in the media are warned not to show anger or sadness, as vulnerability proves we are too weak to do the job. Though women have made immense strides in these fields in the last few decades, it seems that many believe that we still need to adjust ourselves and our femininity in order to fit into an occupation that should be void of emotion. Juliet Papa is accomplished to say the least. Her drive and her talent are irrefutable, as evident by the long list of her accolades that was read to us at the beginning of the event. In that tearful moment she displayed, it became clear that she was the antithesis of the notion that women should rid them-
selves of emotion in order to be successful. Juliet is a human who tells stories. What makes her so good at it is that she knows that stories cannot exist without the integral shades of humanity. She has built an impressive career with her work ethic, and she did not have to give up her emotions to do it. The story she told us had happened years prior, and the thought of those interviews still evoked tears from Papa. She was so connected to the people in her story that she is still moved after all this time. Maybe it is just a coincidence that this all happened in front of me during Women’s History Month, but I choose to believe it is a sign to me and all of the other students in the room-male and female-- that we can be successful in our careers without losing the parts of us that connect us most to other humans. Juliet Papa serves as a prime example of this truth, and I am thankful that I have her to look up to as I prepare to leave college and start my career.
News
MARCH 26, 2019
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Campus Ambassadors Meet Bill Weitz, Congressman Engel’s Chief of Staff Madalyn Johnson & Joe Liggio
Asst. A&E Editor and Asst. News Editor On Wednesday, March 13, a group of representatives from Manhattan College met with Congressman Elliot Engel’s Chief of Staff Bill Weitz, to discuss funding for the federal budget of the upcoming fiscal year. Students Mackenna Jacovich, Carly Brownell, Alana Pons and Jill Beckerle, as well as Director of Campus Ministry and Social Action Lois Harr, all made the trek to Congressman Engel’s office at 3655 Johnson Avenue, representing the Catholic Relief Service (CRS) at Manhattan. There they offered Lasallian advocacy for the ongoing human rights concerns at the U.S. Southern border. The meeting was made possible due to an event hosted last month by CRS and MC’s own CRS campus ambassadors, held in response to the current U.S. political stance concerning immigration policies and a border wall. On February 19, MC students were welcomed by CRS Ambassadors to attend “Would the U.S. Accept You?” in Smith Auditorium, which gave students the opportunity to fully realize perceptions of immigrants and their journey to the U.S. A hands-on activity that involved attendees using cash and cards to portray an immigrant, CRS ambassadors were able to convey to others why some make the sacrifice to come to the United States and how difficult the journey really is. Kevin Ahern, Ph.D. and Lois Harr coordinate the Global Campus Project at Manhattan, a division of CRS which itself advocates for the poor and vulnerable around the world. Harr shared how CRS at Manhattan College progressed into
a Global Campus so professional meetings and events could be coordinated with MC. “Manhattan College has been working with CRS since around 2005,” said Harr via email. “In 2012, we became a Fair Trade College and after several programs and projects with CRS, we were recognized as a CRS Global Campus in 2014. This means we’re committed to working with CRS at the institutional/presidential level, as well as the faculty and student levels.” The group presented a budget sheet to Weitz and stressed adequate funding for international aid and development. “Don’t balance the budget on the backs of poor people” was one statement made by the ambassadors during the meeting. “This year migration is a priority as is the fiscal year 2020 budget. That’s why we presented the Crossing Borders simulation last month,” said Harr. “Asking for a meeting with Congressman Engel’s office was a follow-up to the simulation – to advocate on the 2020 budget. We gave the Congressman’s Chief of Staff, Bill Weitz, copies of all the letters students signed at the simulation – including ones to 29 other members of Congress.” Jacovich, a senior at Manhattan, originally got involved with CRS as a junior, hoping to work with human rights in the future. She explained how the meeting with Weitz came about after last month’s event. “After the simulation, we watched a webinar that the main branch of CRS issued for advocacy visits and planned out our meeting. It was right after the proposed fiscal budget came out, which cut aid to migrants and refugees by 100 percent, so we decided to keep our meeting focused on the issue of migration,” said Jacovich via e-mail.
Students meeting with Congressman Engel’s Chief of Staff, Bill Weitz, to discuss funding for the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. LOIS HARR FACEBOOK/ COURTESY Pons, a freshman at Manhattan, signed up with CRS after the simulation and also attended the webinar to prep for the meeting. “We allocated different parts of our talk among the ambassadors so everyone had a chance to express their concerns … I spoke to him directly about my past trip to El Paso, Texas and my concerns for the borderlands and the migrants risking everything to travel here. I stressed the urgency of the situation by telling some of the stories of the people I encountered and also revealing
the inhumane conditions of detention centers,” said Pons via e-mail. She attributes the success of the meeting to all of the CRS members who helped to coordinate the event. “I was very proud of the whole CRS team for the hours of preparation. Even those who unfortunately couldn’t make it to the meeting with Bill Weitz helped tremendously,” Pons said. Harr associated the human right issues that need to be addressed and fixed for the upcoming U.S. federal budget to
upholding morals and living up to the expectations of a Lasallian. Those who attended the meeting were satisfied by the way it went, and remain optimistic about the upcoming budget. “The meeting went really well and [Weitz] was enthusiastic about Elliot Engel visiting our campus in the near future. He seemed very hopeful that the fiscal budget would not pass as-is and encouraged us to continue to advocate for the humane treatment of migrants entering the U.S.,” said Jacovich.
MC Hosts Annual Innovation Challenge __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 we placed]!,” said Pavone. “The other competitors had great businesses and presentations so we knew it was a tough competition. It was a nice feeling knowing that there were other people who saw the product and goal we have been working on all semester and thought it was actually a good idea.” The third place team comprised of freshmen Lauryn
Hughes, Grace McNamara, Grace Taggart and Caroline Voight came up with a more abstract business idea. The team won $500 for “UNLINK” a piece of RFID technology that allows commuters with headphones in to become aware of dangerous surroundings. The team faced some challenges along the way but were able to complete their proposal and put together what turned out to be a prize winning presentation.
Voight said in an email, “Knowing the problem we wanted to solve was easy, but having absolutely no knowledge of the technology and legalities behind it was the hard part. Luckily, every outside person we showed the idea to loved it, and was willing to teach us more about the technology that we might need.” She continued. “Because this is a completely original idea, we didn’t have any competition or other
business models to base it off which was tough at first. We have some strong speakers on our team, plus an overall enthusiasm about the project, so the presentation was fun, and fulfilling to present our ideas fully thought out.” Since the team is all freshmen, they plan to come back to the Innovation challenge next year with a new idea and put what they learned this year to the test. The other teams all re-
ceived $100 which actually brought the prize money total to $5,100. To Dean Gibson, the best part of the challenge is how it brings together students of every major. “The part that is super cool is the collaboration. We have 12 business students, 12 engineering students and 3 science students. We didn’t engineer this, this is just happened which to me is really amazing and cool,” said Gibson.
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Features
THE QUADRANGLE
WAGS Annual Lecture on Intersectionality Sophia Sakellariou Production Editor
The Women and Gender Studies Annual Lecture focused on intersectionality and its importance in resolving modern day political issues that continue to divide the nation. Premilla Nadasen, Ph.D, a professor of history at Barnard College and President of National Women’s Studies Association, according to her LinkedIn, argued the ways in which an intersectional approach to politics can lead to greater unity for marginalized groups. An advocate for social justice for over 30 years, Dr. Nadasen’s compassion was evident when she began her talk in Hayden 100 on Tuesday, March 12 by thanking the “invisible labor” of the custodial and technological staff that made the event possible. She then launched into a discussion of a program run at Barnard in the Mississippi Delta. “[Mississippi Semester] is a new initiative at Barnard that attempts to bridge campus and community, and the aim in this initiative is to see how we as a campus can support the community organizing and to develop an ongoing partnership with community groups,” said Dr. Nadasen. “We saw our partners as research collaborators rather than research subjects.” In the program, students work alongside various advocacy groups to gain a better understanding of the struggles lower class women of color in the South experience. Dr. Nadasen explained that the “vision of social change and political empowerment” the
trip provoked, was a model of intersectional feminist politics for the way it looked at racism and sexism collectively, not independently. She explained that feminism does not look the same today as it did years ago. “Success is a double-edged sword. Most feminists today understand the need to consider gender through a lens of race, class and other forms of difference. It is difficult to talk about feminism without acknowledging the diversity of women’s experiences and without including women of color,” Dr. Nadasen said. She looked to modern movements such as the 2017 Women’s March and Black Lives Matter to explain the importance of intersectionality in modern politics. “These movements led largely by queer women of color have insisted upon an intersectional analysis on a range of issues from police brutality to gun violence, to immigration rights to labor organizing, and in some of the most exhilarating organizing we have seen in decades, marked by fierce resistance,” said Nadasen. Although she argued that universities are also part of the inequality problem, with high tuition costs and government support for higher education at a low, Dr. Nadasen cited scholars, academics and other active participants on college campuses as those in the unique position to intervene in today’s political moment to stop it from going awry. “Universities are … liberatory spaces and the urgency before us requires that we ask questions about social transformation, that we push to decolonize the knowledge of the
Dr. Nadasen of Barnard College spoke to attendees about various movements whose utilization of intersectionality lead to their success. SOPHIA SAKELLARIOU/ THE QUADRANGLE university and use our time to imagine alternate futures. An intersectional feminist analysis can help us do that,” Dr. Nadasen said. As scholars and academics, Dr. Nadasen argued that we must not only critique racial and gender violence, but use our abilities to research, learn and analyze to see how to move forward, to eradicate inequalities and prevent the rise of “conservative and polito-fascist forces” that have been seemingly strengthened. “At a moment when the country is so divided between liberal and conservative, red state and blue state, black and white … our trip was in part about crossing these divides and thinking about how to
build bridges, and it was so much easier than we thought,” said Dr. Nadasen. After the talk, those in attendance were given the opportunity to ask questions. One attendee further asked about the Mississippi programs and how it is received by students at Barnard. A round of applause marked the end of the talk and attendees rushed out. “I thought it was really informative,” said Kaylyn Atkins, a junior political science and international studies major. “I was going to ask what she thought ours was missing as opposed to Barnard … I feel like our school and other private, maybe Catholic schools are missing something even though we’re in New York City.
“If we could have a course like [the Mississippi program], that’d be really helpful. On intersectionality, Jonathan Keller, Ph. D, assistant professor of political science at Manhattan College said, “I teach political philosophy so I know what it is, but as far as utilizing it and explaining it and talking about how it applies in the real world, I think I learned a lot.” Dr. Nadasen’s lecture gave the attendees new insight into the importance of intersectionality and how this knowledge can be used on a college campus to be able to create real, much needed change in the future.
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Arts & Entertainment
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Author Laura Sims Hosted at Second MARS Reading Katie Heneghan & Madalyn Johnson
Features Editor and Asst. A&E Editor The Major Author Reading Series (MARS) welcomed its second author of the semester, Laura Sims, to read from her thrilling novel, Looker. On March 12, the campus community gathered into Hayden 100 to hear Sims read from a small portion of the beginning of her book and to answer questions pertaining to the story, the writing process and more. Lookee has been reviewed by major magazines such as Vogue and the New Yorker and has received raving reviews.
“It’s an ephemeral fiction with a hard landing—like a window, seen in passing, that glows and goes dark,” wrote Katy Waldman in her New Yorker review. Prior to reading from her novel, Sims discussed the inspiration and ideas that lead her to writing the story. It was a semi-personal experience helped her develop the idea for Looker. When encountering a celebrity on a hot August day in Brooklyn, Sims turned her frustration with her own lack of hollywood-esque glamor in that specific moment into a novel. “I think you have to draw on what you see and hear and experience around you to a certain extent and then you can
Laura Sims reads from her novel Thriller, to MC faculty and stuff at a MARS event in Hayden 100. MADALYN JOHNSON / THE QUADRANGLE
kind of go crazy with it,” Sims said. “Part of what interests me at all with my writing actually is that line between acceptable behavior, and unacceptable criminal behavior, and like how we tend to think of that line even as a wall, a silent wall between us and them and how really it is not so definitive in how depending on circumstance anyone of us could become that person that slides into a dangerous place.” Looker takes place in an urban setting where a woman, the main character, is dealing with divorce from her husband due to the fact that she cannot conceive children. She lives vicariously through her neighbor, a supposedly happy celebrity, living a lavish lifestyle. Sims uses eye-catching descriptive language to draw the reader in and tells the story almost as a narration within the main character’s head. Readers learn about her perception and her past through her thoughts and actions told from a first person perspective, and are immersed into the mind of the narrator which is what makes it such a psychological thriller. The unnamed female actress caught the attention of many listeners during the question and answer session with Sims. “It wasn’t a choice it just kind of happened that way. Only now when people have been asking me that question I’ve started to think, ‘Well may-
Laura Sims’ thriller Looker, centralizes on a woman’s obsession with her neighbor’s lavish lifestyle. MADALYN JOHNSON / THE QUADRANGLE be it’s because you’re so inside your head that it would almost be weird to have her named,’” said Sims in response to her reasoning behind not naming the actress. As for her writing process, Sims says she wrote the majority of Looker in a Brooklyn, N.Y. cafe that has since closed, called Hungry Ghost. Her work is typically inspired by the human mind. The MARS series is organized by both Dominika Wrozynski, Ph.D. and Adam
Koehler, Ph.D. of the English department. Koehler shared his reflections on the reading with The Quadrangle. “I think the way that she melts genres in the book is really fascinating, as a reader it’s very much reads like a poem but it’s a novel. That kind of collage that she described earlier, I was drawn to that when reading the book,” said Koehler. The next Major Author Reading Series (MARS) will be Wednesday, April 10 in Hayden 100.
MC Film Society Screens “Dead Poet’s Society” Lauren Schuster Social Media Editor
On Monday March 11, the Manhattan College Film Society held a screening of the 1989 film “Dead Poets Society.” The screening was a part of the Film Society’s larger theme for the year, coming of age and new beginnings. “We chose … ‘Dead Poets Society’ because it represented our theme of coming of age,” said senior student Sofia Tollinche, one of the club’s coleaders. “The film portrays a group of boys, each of which are battling with their own story and personal struggles. These are things that many of us, as we were in high school, dealt with at the same time that we were beginning to discover ourselves as individuals.” While most of the films throughout the year are introduced by students who are members of the Film Society, this film was introduced by Adam Koehler, P.h.D., a professor from MC’s English department. “I think theme-wise, the Film Society’s choice to use coming of age as a way of reading the film is good, because I think as a coming of age film it does a good job of showing
how young people grapple with very challenging components of being young,” Koehler said. “Suicide, overbearing families, academic struggle, those are all, as everybody in the Q and A [afterwards] was talking about almost universal struggles.” Koehler brought an interesting and thought provoking approach to the film, addressing various issues within it, especially the idea of the teachersavior narrative it presents. “It’s a movie that I love it as much as I don’t,” Koehler said. “There’s a lot to talk about. There’s problems with the way it imagines the profession of teaching, I think it perpetuates a problematic teacher-savior narrative, but it also doesn’t shy away from those really hard questions that a critical pedagogy asks about its effects in the lives of students. Even if it’s a movie that is more about the way students misinterpret a valuable lesson, it’s still very moving to watch the characters struggle with that.” During question, answer and discussion session after the film, Koehler found himself somewhat surprised that the majority of students in attendance related strongly to the film’s characters and even consider the film to be beloved.
“When I was asked to speak on the movie, I was like, ‘People still watch Dead Poets Society?’” Koehler said. “I thought this was going to be lost to the ages, but it does strike a chord, and I think one of the students here put it best when she said ‘I think it’s great to see that there’s students who still struggled, and they’re fighting the same fight we fought, but in a different social, cultural set of circumstances,’ and that makes the movie valuable in a way that
I just didn’t see coming, and probably should have.” One of the students in attendance at the screening was junior Megan Lawlor. “Even with loving this movie, I think there’s a lot to talk about with this movie, and I like the fact that we can talk about the problematic aspects of this film while also being like, ‘Yeah, but it’s a really good movie,’” Lawlor said. Tollinche hopes that more students will continue to en-
joy attending the club’s film screenings in the future as well as use them as learning opportunities. “We hope that students take this opportunity to further engage with films and to better understand the different themes and messages behind what these actors and directors are trying to tell us,” Tollinche said. “Films often portray more than just a story but represent bigger social and cultural issues.”
Adam Koehler, Ph.D., discusses major themes of the classic movie ‘Dead Poets Society.’
LAUREN SCHUSTER / THE QUADRANGLE
Arts & Entertainment
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THE QUADRANGLE
Annual Irish Night Hosted in Smith Auditorium Rose Brennan A&E Editor
On Thursday, March 14, members of the Manhattan College community, Irish and non-Irish alike, gathered in Smith Auditorium for the Gaelic Society’s Irish Night event. Irish Night is a cornerstone event of Manhattan College’s celebration of Irish Heritage Month each March. This year, the festivities included live music, step dancing by some of MC’s own students, a guest speaker and Irish food galore. Irish Night is truly a favorite event among both students and faculty. Tara O’Shea, president of the Gaelic Society, noted there were several organizations that made the annual event possible. “It is an annual event that people can look forward to every March,” O’Shea said. “We have collaborated in the past with [the] Multicultural [Center], and this year, we’re collaborating with Student Government, which has been great.” While Irish Night is a major event for Irish Heritage Month at the college, it is certainly not the only notable one. Ian Scheuer, co-vice president of the Gaelic Society, views Irish Night as a precursor for an Irish Heritage Month event that is known across the world. “Every year, we march in the [New York City] Saint Patrick’s Day parade so this is basically like the pre-party for our big celebration,” Scheuer said. “As a school, it’s pretty awesome that we get to go into the parade with such a rich history.” This year’s guest speaker was Frank Brady of the Aisling Irish Community Center in Yonkers, N.Y. Brady’s speech touched on several aspects of the Irish immigrant experience, such as the discrimination they faced as well as their role in advancing American society. “Today, we hear all the time about how the Irish built America,” Brady said. “And if you look through various books, and do a content analy-
sis, that certainly would be borne out, when you look at the Catholic Church, politics, the Labor Movement, athletics, civil rights, the Army … American and Irish independence, you see that the Irish played a major role over the years.” He continued. “We have heard this very often, that the Irish … immigrants have built the United States. Well, I think, without fear of contradiction, that the Irish have certainly done an awful lot, and more than any other ethnic group.” After Brady’s speech, the event turned toward Irish step dancing. Two of the featured dancers, freshmen Noel Spillane and Kasey Van Doren, have performed across the nation and the world, and were invited by the Gaelic Society to perform at Irish Night. Spillane got involved in Irish dance through both of his parents. “My mother used to dance … and my dad is from Cork in Ireland,” he said. In addition to MC’s longstanding Gaelic traditions, Spillane also chose the college specifically because of its proximity to his dance school. “I’m from Long Island, so I wanted to stay close to the New York area so that I could travel to my dance teacher to still practice and train while I’m at school.” Along with many people on and off campus, O’Shea looks forward to Irish Night every year because of its celebration of Irish heritage as well as its widespread appeal across campus. “The fact that like Manhattan College is an amalgamation of different people and different cultures … everything [is] different, which is great,” O’Shea said. “So we love … celebrating our differences. So that’s why we love this event, because we’re celebrating Irish culture, and it’s open to everybody, so everybody can learn a little bit, everybody can celebrate a little bit … We’re bringing all kinds of people together, regardless of if you’re Irish or not.”
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Tara O’Shea (Right). president of Gaelic Society, had an integral part in the planning of Irish Night that was done in collaboration with Student Government. TARA O’SHEA / COURTESY
Students from all heritages and cultures particpated in Irish Night to learn more about the Irish traditions and culture. TARA O’SHEA / Courtesy
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Sports
MARCH 26, 2019
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All-American Women’s Lacrosse Freshman Cassidy Burns JASPERS TALK Nicole Rodriquez & Maria Thomas
Asst. Production Editor & Asst. News Editor Freshman Cassidy Burns is an education major who plays on Manhattan College’s women’s Lacrosse team. Originally from Massapequa, Long Island, she was tabbed as an All-American in 2018. In her first year at the College, Burns has had the experience of competing with a team of girls that love lacrosse just as much as she does. Burns took the time to sit down and talk to the Quadrangle about her passion for sports and the influence athletics has had on her time at MC. The Quadrangle: How did you get into lacrosse? Cassidy Burns: Lacrosse has been big in my family. My dad plays. I have a little brother who plays. I actually got into the game late. I played in
sixth grade and from there on it’s been really nice. I have the help of my dad, my uncle and my brother. Q: What has been your experience as a student athlete? CB: Coming into it, I did not really know what to think. I did not really know if it was going to be stressful. It definitely has. I think time management is a huge thing. Other than that, it is a great opportunity to do both and to be on the team here. I am loving it so far. Q: Why did you choose Manhattan College? CB: A big thing for me is the proximity to home. It is 45 minutes on a good day. An hour the most. I love the campus. The coaches played a huge role in my decision. The academics are great here too. Q: What do you hope to gain from being a D1 athlete? CB: I hope to gain a lot of experience mostly. I come from a small high school so coming here and playing Division 1
really brought my game to another level. Q: Do you have any favorite memories playing lacrosse whether it be personal or professional? CB: My senior year last year I got All-American and I was one out of nine girls in Nassau County so that is by far my favorite. Q: Do you have a nickname on the team and any pre-game rituals? CB: Everyone just calls me Cass. For pre-game, I usually eat the same thing for breakfast. I make an omelette and then I have a piece of toast with peanut butter. Q: What are some of your goals this season? CB: This season I just want to grow into the game and become the best version of myself as a player. I have great teammates around me who are gonna make me better everyday. I am just looking to grow into the
Lacrosse is a pivotal component to not only Burns’ life, but that of her family, as well. GOJASPERS / COURTESY college game. Q: How do you think the team has done so far? CB: We are coming out on a great start. Could not ask for anything better. I think we are growing everyday and we are hungry everyday. We are just going to improve ourselves everyday.
Q: What does being a Jasper mean to you? CB: Being a Jasper is great. People always ask what’s a Jasper and it just means a lot to us here at Manhattan. I love it.
Connor Marshall: Diving Into His Freshman Year JASPERS TALK Catherine Goodyear Senior Writer
Freshman Diver and Civil Engineering Major Connor Marshall, has been making waves this season leading up to his first MAAC championships. The third generation Jasper athlete broke the 1 meter dive school record of 231.08 with a score of 237.83 setting the bar at a new high. Marshall’s uncle, father and grandfather attended Manhattan College before him, playing soccer, lacrosse, and track. The Quadrangle: When did you start diving? Connor Marshall: I started diving when I was about 13. We didn’t have a board at the place I was doing it, so it was really just learning the basics but junior year of high school, I learned that my high school team had both a swimming and diving team so I decided to join that and that’s where my career really started. Q: What made you want to continue diving through college? CM: Well initially I didn’t know that our school had diving and I didn’t really think
about it at first but my college counselor was like ‘why don’t you check it out’ and I was like ‘okay... I might as well’ and I can’t say I regret that. Q: Did you expect to beat the 1 meter record? CM: It was one of my goals. We had talked about it, my coach and I, and he said it is a little far but as in diving, it is very variable and I was having a good day and sometimes things just happen. Some days you just score higher than another and that was just one of those days. Q: How is the training different on a college diving team versus high school? CM: It is definitely more intense. We have lifts and dry lands and we actually practice more. In high school we practed an hour or an hour and a half for 3 days a week and we also practice 3 days a week here but we do two hour practices and there is definitely more of a push to so. Our coach wants us to do much as we can, he wants us to do our best and emphasizes to do so. Q: How do you feel about your first MAAC Championships? CM: That was a little scary, I
was nervous. I was interviewed there and I didn’t realize I was only one of two people being interviewed there from the men’s team so I said I wanted to beat a friend of mine from high school and lo and behold, that got posted on their twitter. Whoops. But it was good. Everyone says first one is not your best and that’s true. Q: What type of preparation do you put in before the MAAC Championships? CM: Other than normal practice, we step it up in the last few weeks. Actually at the MAAC Championships, I learned a brand new dive the day before which helped put me over my friend from high school. There’s definitely a new mindset of this is it you have to leave it all on the table. Q: How do you balance your practices with your classes? CM: So this past week we haven’t had practice so I noticed I’ve been a little lazier because practices forces you to have more time management and to do things before hand. I had been doing this also in high school, in my high school you had to play a sport so I already had a little bit of that but here it forces me to be more managed.
Marshall prepares himself before a dive at the 2018 meet against NYU. GOJASPERS / COURTESY
Sports
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THE QUADRANGLE
Manhattan Baseball Gets Shut-Out by Fordham in Battle of the Bronx MANHATTAN 0, FORDHAM 9 Pete Janny
Asst. Sports Editor The Manhattan baseball team (4-14) made the crosstown trek to Fordham last Wednesday in urgent need of a win amidst an early season cold stretch. Fresh off of a four-game sweep at the hands of Michigan, the Jaspers entered play losers of five straight games and on the wrong side of seven of their last eight tilts. Moreover, the Jaspers hadn’t tasted victory in over a week with their last triumph coming on March 10th against George Mason. Despite the ominous trajectory of their season up to this point, Manhattan’s record doesn’t do them justice. The Jaspers have had to navigate a remarkably difficult schedule that has featured the likes of Virginia Tech, Sam Houston State, George Washington, George Mason, and Michigan. Not to mention Manhattan has had to play all but their March 12th meeting with NJIT, which resulted in a 3-2 loss, away from the friendly confines of Dutchess Stadium. All things considered, choosing to assess Manhattan’s season with a glass half full attitude doesn’t erase the frustrations of losing 13 games by mid-March. Given the team’s adverse circumstances, this year’s Battle of the Bronx showdown with the Fordham Rams (12-9) seemingly had added importance for the Jaspers. On this day, however, the Rams were clearly the superior side. Manhattan had no response to Fordham’s 10-hit attack that propelled the Rams to a dominant 9-0 win. Manhattan threatened in the top of the first inning when they put together a two-out rally by way of a Nick Cimillo hitby-pitch and a Dominic Palma single into right field. Manhattan would leave both runners stranded when junior Alex Cerda struck out swinging to end the inning. Unfortunately for Manhattan, the Rams were active with the bats for most of the afternoon. Fordham drew blood first in the second inning when freshman Andy Semo launched his first career home run that just about made it over the left field wall to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Manhattan looked to retaliate in the top half of the third when they again put runners on first and second. After freshman Keury Abreu led off the
Junior Joe Chionchio pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts. GOJASPERS / COURTESY inning with a groundout to second, graduate student Shawn Blake reached on an error by the Fordham third baseman who failed to haul in Blake’s high pop fly. A batter later, freshman catcher Nick Cimillo continued his excellent season at the plate when he knocked a one-out single into left field to set up Palma with runners positioned on first and second. Palma and Cerda would end up striking out in succession to terminate a potential Manhattan outburst. The Rams mustered another run in the bottom half of the third inning thanks to the gritty efforts of sophomore Jake MacKenzie. MacKenzie made his presence felt with one out in the inning when he parlayed a probable single into a hard-earned double off of a hard ground ball that snuck through the left side of the infield. Moments later, MacKenzie’s aggressive spirit paid dividends again when his attempted steal of third forced an errant throw from Cimillo that allowed MacKenzie to come all the way home. Fordham’s lead grew to 2-0 on the unearned run. Teddy Sabato’s start on the mound for Manhattan came to a close after he finished up the third inning. Over his three innings of work, the sophomore transfer surrendered three hits and two runs, the second of which was unearned, to take the loss for Manhattan. Manhattan’s offensive shortcomings carried over into the top of the fourth inning when they again left two runners stranded. After Padre got
plunked to lead off the inning, sophomore Santiago Riera drew a walk that provided freshman Jonathan Barditch with an opportunity to capitalize on Fordham’s command issues. Barditch’s at-bat would end in a pop fly to second base that left Padre and Riera stationed at first and second, respectively. After a passed ball moved both runners up a base, an Abreu ground ball to third ended the frame and prolonged Fordham’s shutout bid. Through four innings, Manhattan’s offense failed to cash in on any of their seven base runners. “They did a good job of keeping our hitters off-balance,” said Manhattan head coach Mike Cole on his team’s lack of offensive success. “They did a good job of mixing pitches and attacking the strike zone.” Meanwhile, Fordham’s offensive attack would continue to give Manhattan headaches. The bottom of the fourth inning proved to be Fordham’s most prosperous frame. Following a one-out walk by freshman Jake Guercio, Semo struck again with a double that advanced Guercio to third. Manhattan would concede another walk before being subject to the biggest blow of the afternoon when junior Alvin Melendez unleashed a grand slam off of a full count offering from Manhattan pitcher Anthony Fanelli to push the Fordham lead to 7-0. Looking to fight their way back, the Jaspers loaded up the bases in the sixth but were unable to capitalize as they hit into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. The Rams added to their
lead in the bottom of the inning when Melendez doubled to right field, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on 5-3 fielder’s choice ground ball to push the lead to 8-0. An inning later, the Rams put the finish touchings on their win when sophomore Nick Labella hit a high fly ball that was misjudged by Manhattan’s left fielder and thus gave Labella enough time to execute an inside-the-park home run. Manhattan’s gaffe upped Fordham’s lead to 9-0, which remained unchanged the rest of the way. Manhattan used five pitchers in this one to combat Fordham’s offense. Fanelli came on in relief of Sabato to start the fourth inning and relinquished five earned runs on four hits, including the grand slam off the bat of Melendez. Freshman Jeff Long supplanted Fanelli and pitched the fifth and sixth in which he allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out two batters. Senior Jacob Knight yielded one earned run while collecting two strikeouts in his seventh inning appearance and junior Joe Chionchio delivered a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts to his name. Cole was pleased with the way his team’s pitching improved as the game wore on. ‘It was good to see Joe, Jeffoand Jacob have strong outings,” said Cole. “All three were able to command pitches for strikes and will be counted on as the season progresses.” The Jaspers recorded a meager six hits on the day in what was an afternoon to forget for Mike Cole’s hitters. Sopho-
more Matt Padre accounted for two of those six hits and finished the day 2-for-3 from the plate. Cole is remaining patient with all the growing pains that come with coaching a young team. “Offensively we are very young starting five or six freshmen so we are going to have some bumps in the road,” said Cole. “The biggest thing we need to do is simplify our approach at the plate and not try to do too much.” The Rams used a string of eight pitchers to secure the shutout victory. Melendez set the tone for his team in registering three strikeouts in two scoreless innings of work to earn the win. Seven different Fordham pitchers each completed one inning of work following Melendez’s departure from the mound in helping the Rams preserve the shutout. Melendez showcased his versatility in this one by also making his presence felt at the plate in addition to his strong start on the mound. Melendez went 2-for-3 from the plate with a home run, two runs scored, and four RBIs. Any feelings of regret that Manhattan may have about their early season hardships should be alleviated knowing that none of their losses to date have any implications on their status in the MAAC standings. Manhattan’s MAAC schedule doesn’t start until March 30th when the team opens up a three-game set at Canisius.