THE QUADRANGLE ISSUE 11 SPRING 2024

the Quadrangle

ManhattanCollegeHostsFirstAccepted StudentsDayof2024

Tour guides gather to help give tours to potential MC students at Accepted Students Day Saturday, April 13.

@MANHATTANEDU/ INSTAGRAM

ManhattanCollegeHopes toSeeStudentSuccessAfter ReceivingNSFGrant

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

Manhattan College has officially been chosen to receive the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to implement a STEM Teaching and Learning Experience Center at the college as of April 4.

Dean of Kakos School of Arts and Sciences Marcy Kelly, Ph.D., spoke on the grant in an article on the Manhattan College website.

“The NSF [National Science Foundation] grant, through the establishment of the Teaching and Learning

Center, will embrace conversations on scholarly teaching methods; spotlight support on the best ways to teach first-year students in science, particularly those students from under-resourced high schools; and build a strong feeling of community among science students from diverse backgrounds,” Kelly said in a statement on manhattan.edu.

The grant focuses on providing better educational opportunities for college students in beginner-level classes, particularly for students who come from underprivileged high schools.

As dean, Kelly is the principal investigator (PI) for the NSF grant. In her role as

PI, she ensures that the grant is used appropriately. Co-PI’s of the grant include Sarah Wacker, Ph.D., and Gerardo Carfagno, Ph.D.

Carfagno, an associate professor of biology, teaches many introductory courses to the subject, similar to Wacker, who is an assistant professor in the departments of chemistry and biochemistry. Due to their experience teaching these introductory courses, as well as their shared involvement in a teaching and learning ambassadors program, they were chosen to be the co-PIs of the grant.

“I became involved

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SWEand GirlScouts Come forTogether LearningaDayofand Fun

Anna Segota Staff Writer

This past weekend, the Manhattan College chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) hosted an event for local Girl Scouts to learn about STEM.

The Society of Women Engineers is a national service and education organization. According to their website, the group strives to, “Empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.”

Seeing as engineering is often portrayed as a maledominated field, solidarity between women is especially important.

“During freshman and sophomore year I was wanting to meet more women in engineering,” Peyton Hayes, a senior mechanical engineering major said. “I remember during my freshman year I was one of the few women in my classes and many other girls had the same experience. I heard about

SWE and I thought it was a great way to meet people and I just stuck with it.”

The MC chapter of SWE works diligently to fulfill its mission both within the school of engineering and the broader community. Every year, SWE does outreach work with local Girl Scout troops, having them come and participate in a day of learning and fun. They do many activities, including conducting experiments related to the different engineering disciplines offered at Manhattan College.

“It’s a really good experience to teach girls about engineering,” Gabriella Morelli, SWE’s social media chair said. “It’s a bit challenging, you have to explain it in a way that kids understand and that makes them interested to learn. Overall it’s a great way for the girls to learn about what engineering is, and hopefully they decide to go into it.”

This collaboration comes as no surprise, as the Girl Scouts of Greater New York have been dedicated to, “Building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place,” according to the website’s mission statement.

The group strives both as a whole and within the individual

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.

LETTER from the EDITOR

Hello, and welcome to issue 11! We’re so happy you’ve decided to stop by once again and check out what’s been going on around campus.

I am saddened to say that this is our second-to-last issue of the spring semester. The time has gone by so quickly, and it is hard to believe that we are already into the last days of April. This being said, next week, The Quadrangle has a very special surprise coming your way. While I don’t want to spoil anything yet, I think it will be the perfect way to wrap up the hectic semester we’ve had. Be sure to check it out next Tuesday!

In this news this week, we discuss MC’s chapter of SWE coming together with local Girl Scout troops to inspire the next generation of females in STEM. Also in news, we discuss the college’s recent success in receiving the NSF grant. In features, we talk last week’s Jasper Wellness Day and the new members of our student government. In A&E, we feature the one-act plays recently performed and directed by our students, and review T-Swift’s new album in our Jasper Jams of the week. Lastly, in sports, we talk about ultimate frisbee’s goals for their next season and the Jasper Dancer’s third-place win at NDA Nationals. As usual, our students have been up to some pretty amazing things on campus and I hope you’ll check them all out.

As always, I want to express my appreciation for our readers. The Quadrangle would not be what it is without you, and I am forever grateful for how supportive and active you’ve been. We hit recordbreaking views on our website this semester, all because of you. We’ve been discussing the importance of our legacy with some of our newer writers this week, which always provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the writers who came before us and the ones who started this publication in the first place 100 years ago. Thank you, readers, for letting our team know that what we’re doing is being seen and that it remains important. For as long as our readers read, we’ll write - which means by the looks of it, we won’t be going anywhere for a long, long time.

Until next week,

SWEandGirlScoutsCome TogetherforaDayofLearning andFun

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troops to expose girls to as many opportunities and teach them as many life skills as they can.

“It’s great for her development,” said mother Anna Campos, regarding her daughter’s time with the Girl Scouts. “It’s such a good experience for her. And

she’s learning to be more independent and to develop her people skills.”

The experiments the girls participated in ranged from creating snow to building makeshift windmills and structurally sound miniature houses. While all part of the umbrella of engineering, chemical, civil, mechanical, electrical and computer engineering all offer very different skill sets and

interests.

“Today is about showing the girls what engineering is really like,” Yolanda Leon Leiva, one of the co-head coordinators of the event said. “Growing up, girls don’t really know what it is about, we want to give them that opportunity and make it fun for them, so they know there’s girls in it. Engineering is usually seen as a masculine type of thing, so we want them

to know that they have an opportunity for it here and it’s fun.”

Parents of the scouts are also very supportive of these events, allowing their daughters to explore deeper into STEM and what their future could look like.

“I think that learning these types of things are important,” one mother, Linda Cohen Stumer, said. “These events

open up a different world for them, based on the other things that they are currently learning in school.”

Overall, the Manhattan College chapter of SWE and the Girl Scouts came together for another very successful day of solidarity and joy. Another day of the program will be held on April 21, for scouts who couldn’t attend the previous one.

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StudentManhattanCollegeHopestoSee SuccessAfterReceivingNSF

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both due to the fact that I had been a teaching and learning ambassador and that I’m the course coordinator for the general chemistry sequence here at Manhattan College,” Wacker said. “[The program] was a really dynamic community where we thought about active learning practices and how to incorporate them more into our classrooms.”

The program that took place last summer was essentially a test to figure out which teaching strategies worked best for new students.

After the success it’s had, the professors involved will go on to share these strategies with other science professors.

“We were kind of like the pilot group - it was just the handful of us,” said Carfagno.

“Dr. Kelly hopes to have new faculty integrated every

summer, so that we spread the news to as many people as possible. So, myself and Dr. Wacker are supposed to help lead this coming summer session based on what we learned last summer.”

With this new grant, new faculty could potentially be implemented to help students in these science courses.

“The other part of this [the grant] is that it has also helped to fund supplemental instructors,” Carfagno said. “I feel like I never have enough time in the classroom to help the students that are struggling. And so, by being able to pay a dedicated person–typically a former student that was successful– to be able to hold additional hours to tutor people or hold study sessions, especially in the first year of class, I think that’s really important.”

The dean also commented on the opportunities this grant opens up for the community.

“Having the resources that this grant provides gives us the opportunity to train additional faculty in exploring and adopting exciting best teaching practices,” Kelly said in a statement to manhattan. edu. “Of course, our students remain at the center of all that we as educators do, and it is they who will advance and become successful based on the receipt of these best teaching practices.”

MC only recently received this NSF grant, but the college’s professors are already hard at work trying to ensure that students see increased success with it. This dedication to student success is why Carfagno believes MC was chosen to be awarded.

“I think what made us stand out was probably the commitment by faculty to do what we think is best for the students,” said Carfagno. “And that’s why I’m in school- because I have a passion for teaching

and I want to help my students and I think that’s what they’re looking for. Looking to invest in programs where faculty might make a difference for the lives of their students. And since our mission is to help students

achieve their dreams in terms of future professions and that kind of thing, especially from underserved populations, I think we’re a perfect place for that.”

SWE members teach the Girl Scouts about engineering. ANNA SEGATOA/THE

Gerardo Carfagno, Ph.D is an associate biology professor at MC. He is serving as co-PI of the grant.

SWE holds this event yearly, with most of the participating troops being daisies or brownies.

ANNA SEGATOA/COURTESY

BiologyStudentsPresent TheirSeniorCapstone Projects

Catherine Diakou Staff Writer

Manhattan College’s senior biology majors celebrated their year-long research at the capstone presentation event that took place at the end of March. After spending many hours on their chosen topic, students were able to honor the work of their classmates as well as themselves.

Bruce Shockey, Ph.D., has been mentoring these students through each of their individual studies.

“They’ve been doing a lot of work, and suffering to some degree and now this, nobody’s suffering today, there’s just joy,” Shockey said.

Senior biology major Ava Cruz, has been studying her chosen topic for the entire school year along with her classmates.

“You start day one; you start the first day of senior year talking about the process and everything,” Cruz said.

The course catalog breaks down this required class, labeling its aim as an investigation of the entire research process.

According to manhattan. edu, the class involves,“Training in reading and comprehension of scientific papers, understanding statistical analysis issues, constructing a reference section, [and] writing for science and powerpoint construction issues.”

Shockey went in-depth on the purpose behind such a time-consuming project.

“We want our graduates to have experience doing literature reviews, searching literature on the topic, picking a topic, writing it up, and knowing it well enough to then communicate it visually and verbally,” Shockey said. “I learned as a teacher, often I learn things better [by] teaching. Today they are teaching us about their project.”

While this aids the end of their academic career here at MC, it is also beneficial for their future endeavors in research.

“This is a good kind of microcosm of what happens with professional scientists, they go to meetings and they have poster sessions and talks, they communicate in that way,” Shockey said. “Some person you would never socialize with, all of a sudden you [can] have this weird interest that you and them can talk about and nobody else.”

Cruz dedicated her time to researching the genetic factors of the neurodevelopment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

“It’s a really really complex condition, so there’s a lot of answers as to what causes it,” Cruz said. “There’s a lot of different symptoms and you see a lot of different presentations, where some people are higher functioning, or they’re savant. And then there is very low functioning, [where] there are people that are non-verbal. How does that happen biologically?”

Following graduation this May, Cruz is headed to pursue a career furthering her research of autism spectrum disorder.

“I am going to have a job at the MGH Larry Learning Center for Autism,” Cruz said. “It’s an outpatient psychiatric unit where they treat people with all different types of neurological disabilities such as autism from womb to tomb, and they are the only outpatient clinic that does that, which is really exciting.”

Seeing the finished projects and the part that research played in students such as Cruz’s future plans is what the capstone project is all about.

“Completing something like this is the social aspect of science,” Shockey said. “These things don’t look that impressive on their little computer screens, but when you project it like that, it’s a big deal.”

Seniors present at senior capstone. CATHERINE DIAKOU/THE QUADRANGLE

Seniors present at senior capstone. CATHERINE DIAKOU/THE QUADRANGLE

Jasper Wellness Day Provides a Day of Joy

Karen Flores Staff Writer

Manhattan College hosted its annual Jasper Wellness Day last Tuesday. The day was filled with activities for students to pause and enjoy the beautiful weather as it gets closer to the end of the semester.

The day included activities such as puppies on the quad, an ice cream truck, a lawn game competition as well as Zumba with the dean of Kakos School of Arts and Science and ended with a movie on the quad featuring “Barbie”.

The Counseling Center had a table where students could write something they were grateful for on a sticky note. Adrienne Bilello, a staff clinician at the counseling center, believed that days such as these allow students to take a breath and try to lessen the stress that comes with the end of the semester.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of stressed-out students dealing with academic burnout and feeling tired,” Bilello said. “The career center created this gratitude wall so students can come up and write something they’re thankful for. It can be as

big as their family and as small as the sun being out today. It can be easy to forget what good things are in our lives when we are focused on what is stressing us out.”

One way students could destress was by smashing a plate of whipped cream at an engineer. This event was hosted by the Society of Women Engineers and their subsidiary He for SWE. Nicholas Pesa, a senior computer engineer, was one of the various volunteers waiting to be “pied” by their peers.

“All male engineers that volunteer get pied in the face, it was 3 dollars for a small pie and five dollars for a big pie,” Pesa said. “We decided that today would be a good day because of the weather and the turnout has been great. It’s a great way for students to reclaim themselves. I know a lot of people here, especially in engineering, spend long hours studying so to be out on such a beautiful day with friends is a perfect way to reclaim yourself mentally.”

While this day was centered around the wellness of MC students, clubs and organizations also used this day to try and shed light on the wellness of others.

playing volleyball on the quad

Anthony Behpour, a senior mechanical engineering major, is a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. His fraternity hosted a bake sale fundraiser for Autism Dream Inc., a company founded by Behpour’s mother.

“We are raising money for kids with autism to go to and enjoy different extracurricular activities like swimming, horseback riding and camping,” Behpour said. “It’s Autism Awareness Month so we felt that today when everyone is out here enjoying the weather, we could try and raise some funds for children

who may not have the financial means to pay for these things. Today has been overall a good day for everyone.”

The quad was filled with students on multicolored blankets eating ice cream and watching the various volleyball and football games going on.

Tyler Thomason, a sophomore radiation therapy major, was one of the people playing in the volleyball games on the quad. He expressed being very happy about wellness day as it allowed him to catch up with friends and peers he had not seen in a long

time.

“An event like this where everybody is out enjoying the sun, playing games with friends is amazing,” Thomason said. “I just got to play volleyball with some people I haven’t seen in four months because we haven’t had any classes together and we are all so busy. Everybody’s caught up on work and school. So when you get a break and get to see everybody and hang out and catch up, you really appreciate days like these. I hope they continue to do Jasper Wellness Day, it’s been awesome so far.”

Students

. KAREN FLORES / THE QUADRANGLE

Engineer volunteers get pied in the face for a wellness day

KAREN FLORES / THE QUADRANGLE

Students gather together on the quad to dance Zumba with the Dean. KAREN FLORES / THE QUADRANGLE

The Women of The Jasper Coalition Take Over 2024-2025’s Student Gov

Leyla Mercado Staff Writer

Manhattan College’s newly elected members of Student Government for the 2024-2025 academic year intend to take over MC’s Student Government in an even more impactful way than years before, with the inauguration happening Wednesday, April 24.

The 2024-2025 Student Government consists of President Jazi Riley and Executive Vice President Colin Ratner, alongside Olivia Corsino as vice president of Finance and Monserrat Nicasio as vice president of communications. All of these students have been a part of the Jasper Coalition since the year prior, with the exception of Martina Eichhorn, Rosa

Taormina, Audrey Daniels and Vaiden Ferraro. Elizabeth Kalaj has also been introduced to the board as well.

Ferraro, a double major in political science and English with a minor in Spanish, has become a part of Student Government for the first time as vice president of commuter affairs. Ferraro is excited to enlighten the MC community about the importance of commuter and campus connections through her plans for the upcoming academic year.

“This position allows me to utilize leadership qualities and provides a platform to speak to the challenges that commuters sometimes face in feeling like they are a part of an inclusive environment on campus,” Ferraro said. “So to provide activities that mimic the experiences that those living on campus have for commuters

would make them feel as if they are part of a more inclusive environment.”

Her first-hand experience through periods of isolation due to being a commuter alongside a lack of activities for socialization on campus has led Ferraro to advocate for the commuter community.

Nicasio, vice president of communications, is also a double major in political science and psychology and has recognized the importance of student voices on campus. She has made it her mission to promote a simple yet accessible environment for all students.

“I hope to increase all sorts of transparency about the college to all students so they can continue to be well-rounded individuals,” Nicasio said. “Additionally, I hope to create a safe space for students to be able to share any questions

or concerns about student life that they want to see student government focusing on.”

Nicasio feels the responsibility of student life being put in the hands of real-life students is the best approach to student government.

“What excites me most about being a part of an organization such as Student Government is the possibilities it holds,” Nicasio said. “There are so many changes and opportunities that we can embark on to make the college the best that it can be. Putting the responsibility of student life in the hands of real-life students is the best approach in my opinion. We are a representation of all Jaspers.”

Riley, a double major in political science and philosophy, who is also pursuing a minor in international studies, has been elected president of the Student Government once again. Her

experience with the previous Student Government board is a guiding force for her current term as president.

Riley’s objective is to do more outreach and connect with students and clubs. Her initiative to achieve success and do better has not only become a vital factor, but a permanent one for the board, and MC’s student body.

“This year being president, I was thrown unexpected curveballs,” Riley said. “We weren’t able to do what years prior have done or bring back the initiatives we hoped for. My hope is that next year, I am able to strengthen our bond as a community … This year was rough and we want to implement and develop different events and activities that bring the spirit and good energy back to campus.”

Vaiden Ferraro, Jazi Riley and Montserrat Nicasio. LEYLA J MERCARDO

THE

College ShowcaseStudents Talent with One Acts Theatre Festival

Emmanouel Sofillas and Matthew Schule

Asst. Sports Editor and Staff Writer

In a celebration of creativity and talent, Manhattan College students took center stage in a series of performances at the One Acts theater festival. The event, hosted by MC Players, featured a collection of short plays directed and acted by the students. The students displayed their passion for theater and ability to bring stories to life in a ten-minute time frame.

The festival, held in Smith Auditorium, drew a large crowd eager to witness the various plays the students had prepared. From compelling dramas to comedies, each offered a different perspective and left an impression on the audience.

English and adolescent education major Colin Sweeney played the role of the director in “The Understudy,” a short comedy about a director and an actress getting into a heated argument. Sweeney expressed how he felt being on the stage.

“Because of my part I have to come up with a lot of lines on the spot and always wonder

how everyone will react to what

I think will work the whole time,” Sweeney said.

Directed by Kevin Cullen, the play was met with plenty of laughs from the audience. Cullen spoke to The Quadrangle about his passion for directing.

“Directing has been a new step because previously, I was only an assistant director [so] this is entirely new,” Cullen said. “[Directing] provided a challenge and was really the push that you’re not going to find anywhere because it’s a little hard to find opportunities to direct.”

Students involved in the One Acts were able to make many memories and have fun throughout the process. One of these students was sophomore Kevin Kane, a mechanical engineering student who played the Host in the production of Bobby’s Brain.

“I had such a great time,” Kane said. “One of the most fun parts was working with people because our little mistakes and having fun with the acting made the show a lot better, and we ended up incorporating those things into the final show.”

Kane also told The Quadrangle about his favorite moment in the entire production, which he shared

with his fellow actors during the technical week leading up to the show.

“There was one day where we were joking around so much on stage that we couldn’t get through the end of the show because we were laughing too hard,” Kane said. “Kevin Cullen kept saying Bazinga during his adlibs, and another gentleman named Landon Schofield also kept screaming Bazinga during the interactive parts of the show and it kept making us laugh because they wouldn’t shut up.”

Cullen expressed his gratitude for directing his performance with a cast as willing to bring his visions to light as he was.

“I’m just so proud of my cast; they really did such a great job,” Cullen said. “They had such great ideas and made my job a lot easier because of them. I’m so glad they wanted to be a part of this and had as much fun as they did with it.”

As the festival’s performances finished, echoing applause filled the air. With anticipation for next year’s festival already building, One Acts will be back with more to come.

Kevin Kane (left) played the Host in the production of Bobby’s Brain. ANGELINA PEREZ / THE QUADRANGLE

Kevin Cullen in The Interview. ANGELINA PEREZ / THE QUADRANGLE

From left to right: Tess Nunan ‘24, Max Bennet ‘26 and Colin Sweeney ‘24 in The Understudy directed by Kevin Cullen. ANGELINA PEREZ / THE QUADRANGLE

Jasper Jams: The Tortured Poets Department

Angelina Perez

If you’re a consistent reader of the Jasper Jams column in A&E and see my name, you can guarantee you will see at least one Taylor Swift song on that list. This past Friday, Swift released her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, after announcing it at the 2024 Grammys while accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. Swifties have been anticipating this week ever sinceleaving us to wonder if it would be her most heartbreaking album yet, because of her recent breakup with her longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

Swift released a double album with 31 songs at 2 a.m., and while I can’t review all the songs, here are the top five that I think are must-listens.

5. Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” tells the story of romance and witnessing the pain of a partner’s betrayal when one of them prioritizes substance over love, leaving their partner grappling with feelings of abandonment. I loved this song’s meaning and how the lyrics flow.

Favorite lyrics: If you wanna break my cold, cold heart / Just say, “I loved you the way that you were” / If you wanna tear my world apart / Just say you’ve always wondered

4. Down Bad

I initially thought “Down Bad” was about Joe Alwyn because of the lyric hint at cosmic love, but as the song went on, fans started assuming it was about her fling with Matt Healy

and how frustrated she was that they did not work out.

Favorite Lyrics: I’ll build you a fort on some planet / Where they can all understand it / How dare you think it’s romantic / Leaving me safe and stranded

3. Clara Bow

I loved that she used the actress Clara Bow, who struggled with her mental health because of fame, as a way to open the song. I think incorporating a real-life situation in her song that follows her mental health was a great choice, as she has been in the light since she was a young girl in Tennessee.

Favorite lyrics: You look like Clara Bow / In this light, remarkable / All your life, did you know / You’d be picked like a rose?

2. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

“I Can Do It With A Broke Heart” recounts Swift’s experience touring the Eras Tour following her breakup with Alwyn. The beat with the lyrics was just *chef’s kiss*. It was so motivational to know that no matter what you are going through, especially with heartbreak, you can still shine and thrive with a broken heart.

Favorite lyrics: I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday every day / I’m so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague / I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it’s an art / You know you’re good when you can even do it with a broken heart

1. loml

Everything about this breakup song, the piano, the lyrics - I’m obsessed. The cho-

rus ends with her saying, “You said I’m the love of your life,” which we assumed was why the song was called loml. However, Swift ends the song with, “You’re the loss of my life” - which is absolutely genius and gutwrenching. Swifties didn’t even get a chance to process the ending as the following tracklist went into “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”, which was hilariously painful.

Favorite lyrics: You shit-talked me under the table / Talkin’ rings and talkin’ cradles / I wish I could unrecall / How we almost had it all

Ultimate Frisbee Team Looks Forward to Bright Future

After performing well in their recent tournament, the Manhattan College ultimate frisbee team looks forward to competing again in the next season.

Although they could not move on to the finals due to traveling conflicts, the ultimate frisbee team hopes to be able to participate in future tournaments and is proud of their recent success.

Keller Peterson, a sophomore, is captain and coach of the ultimate frisbee team and started playing ultimate frisbee in high school. Peterson gave some insight as to what the team is working on and hopes to accomplish in their upcoming season.

“More advanced techniques is something we need to do, and then there were catches, we got a lot of drops towards the end,” Peterson said. “Those are the main things we need to work on.”

Peterson expressed that having more people on the team would be very beneficial.

“I wish we had more people because we can run out of energy at the end of the tournament, but if we had more people, I think we could have definitely gotten higher,” Peterson said.

The team hopes to gain more players but also wants to show the benefits of playing the game and even establish their team as co-ed.

“Frisbee is a great way to get outside exercise, it’s really fun, it’s unique,” Peterson said. “The team is very close despite only being together for about a year. We’ve developed a longstanding friendship so we’re also very inclusive. We’re also looking to get other girls’ teams or co-ed teams started.”

James Cullen, another sophomore and player on the team, felt that although there were some challenges, the team has shown growth.

“In October, we would have lost that game and just stopped trying as hard,” Cullen

said. “But we came back and we beat a team that wasn’t bad by any means at all so I thought that was a big thing for us.”

Cullen discussed other goals the team has going into its next season.

“Our goal was probably just to get more people on the team, [and] stay competitive against those teams at the very least because we’ve gotten a lot better since September,”

Cullen said. “We’ve gotten a lot better since December, even in the last couple of months, so the main goal was that we were competitive against a lot of smaller schools, so next year, it might just be time to be competitive against bigger ones.”

Christian Molina, a junior and captain of the team, gave more insight as to what techniques the team is working on.

“One of the things we’ve been working on since the tournament has been, just short, pop passes, also playing in the wind, that’s a big thing that we’ve been trying to work

on,” Molina said. Molina, like Peterson, started playing in high school. However, his position as cocoach has led him to learn more about how to get the team organized, something else the team will now know for next season.

“A lot of the reason we have played in so many tournaments is because we were trying to figure out how to create a USA team, register our team and get everyone on that team because each person needs their individual registration,” Molina said.

Molina explained that the team is open to anyone who is interested.

“There were only two kids on the whole team that ever had experienced actually playing on a frisbee team,” Molina said. “We were starting from nothing, so there’s no worries about coming in with no experience.”

The ultimate frisbee team practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 pm to 10 pm.

Maizy Swift

MCs Ultimate Frisbee Team competes in NY Metro Sectionals Tournament. @MANHATTAN COLLEGE ULTIMATE/ INSTAGRAM

Manhattan College Dance Team Places Third at NDA Nationals

Leyla Mercado Staff Writer

The Manhattan College Dance Team took to Daytona Beach, Florida yet again for the NDA National Championship.

With jazz and hip-hop pieces “Sweet Dreams” and “Lean Back,” the Division One team placed third for hiphop, bringing home their first trophy in five years.

With constant preparation in the midst of an occupied schedule followed by multiple trials and tribulations, the team continuously persevered in order to fulfill their will to win.

Rookie Kalea Jade King and sophomore dancer Aliyah Austin touched on their experiences from start to finish.

“The first couple of weeks we focused a lot on technique and as we got more into the season, we started practicing for our performances for game days,” Austin said. “Once basketball season was over, it was just nationals, nationals, nationals.”

“We start learning our choreography for nationals in November, then our coaches choreograph jazz and bring in a choreographer, whose name is Kenzie, for our hip-hop number so we have the whole weekend with her,” King said.

Austin explained that choreography week for

learning both jazz and hip-hop was extremely intense.

Despite the dancers’ efforts, complications unfortunately came their way, leading the team to work and strive harder for their ultimate goal while shining a light on what they realized was most important for their team.

“We lost people,” King said. “We lost people to injuries, we lost people in general. We lost funding and they raised our fundraising budget numerous times just because the school wasn’t giving us anything. We were also still trying to rehearse and respace national dances while in the midst of a basketball season.”

Austin talked about the experience of rebounding from these setbacks.

“We went through so many hardships, trials and tribulations, injuries, it was actually insane,” Austin said. “Our captain tore her ACL and a lot of people went through a lot of things. It was just putting that aside and still working hard, coming to practice, and still coming in hard.”

Junior and rookie Christina Irvolino mentioned what truly got them through the season.

“Our greatest strength is being true to ourselves,” Irvolino said. “No matter what happened, we were always authentic throughout every hurdle we faced … We worked together to find ourselves. We would crawl on our hands and knees to nationals if we had to.”

The Manhattan College Cheer Team takes on their first nationals. KALEA JADE KING/COURTESY

Irvolino recounted her first-year experience as a Jasper Dancer at the National Championship.

“The feeling of being on stage is indescribable,” Irvolino said. “Something truly magical. The vets, alumni, and coaches explain this feeling all year and it certainly met the

expectations. I hope everyone can experience something close to this in a lifetime.” The team’s collective efforts were undeniable when it came to putting their hearts on the national stage. With preliminary scores of 88.285 for jazz and 94.57 for hip-hop, the Jasper Dancers headed into

finals tied for first place. After their finals performance, they ultimately landed their third-place win, bringing home a trophy they fought for.