Spring 2023, Issue 13: "The International Issue"- The Quadrangle

The Editorial Board

Jocelyn Visnov

Editor-in-Chief

Kyla Guilfoil Managing Editor

Angelina

Persaud News Editor

LETTER from the EDITOR

Dear Readers,

Lauren Raziano Multimedia Editor

Grace Cardinal Asst. News Editor

Angelica

Niedermeyer Features Editor

Brianna Coppola Asst. Features Editor

Karen Flores

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Each spring, The Quad has a tradition of bringing readers a special issue revolving around a single theme in addition to our regular issue. This week, we’re taking Jaspers around the globe with the International Issue!

Mack Olmsted Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor

Andrew Mannion

This week’s print issue would not have been possible without the support we received from students, faculty, alumni and friends of The Quad. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting student journalists and keeping our print traditions alive. Not only did we receive enough funding to print the double Issue 13, but we were able to put over one thousand dollars towards The Quad’s printing budget for the 2023-2024 school year. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and on behalf of The Quadrangle staff we thank you for the support.

Isaiah Rosario Asst. Sports Editors

Adrianne

Hutto Production Editor

Rebecca

Kranich Social Media Editor

Zoe DeFazio

Angelina Perez Web Editors

Mack Olmsted Maizy Swift

Asst. Production Editors

Kyla Guilfoil Sports Editor Mary Haley Asst. Social Media 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’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

With that, we give you the International Issue! We hope you enjoy learning about various different cultures and travel endeavors of your fellow Jaspers. For the regular issue as well as the Quad 10 and senior farewells, you can turn to page __. Sincerely,

Karen Granada Chosen as a 2023 NYC Teaching Fellow

Kelly Kennedy Senior Writer

Karen Granada, a senior international studies and Spanish double major, was recently selected as a 2023 New York City Teaching Fellow.

This is a highly selective and competitive fellowship program, where Granada will be training in NYC classrooms and completing her masters degree.

Granada has not always dreamed of becoming a teacher. She was inspired to pursue this path because of her experience at Manhattan College as a Spanish lab assistant.

“That position basically gave me confidence and experience to pursue this fellowship,” Granada said. “I fell in love with the job, it made me realize that I could do something with my native language, which is Spanish. It made me realize that I can create an impact on other people by teaching them another language, so they can grow as a person and grow intellectually and professionally as well.”

Originally from Columbia, Granada came to the U.S. eight years ago. She was placed into an international high school to help her learn English. She became disappointed with the way the school was run and

decided that she wanted to be a part of the change.

“I was disappointed in the educational system, just because I always strive to get good grades, not because I wanted to be the first one in the classroom, but at least to be able to make my mom feel proud of me,” Granada said. “Being an immigrant, going through all of these experiences in high school and college, I recognize that teachers are special individuals that can create an impact on students. And I know that I want to be someone that creates this impact.”

Throughout her years at MC, Granada has worked extremely hard to get to where she is now. She not only excels in the classroom and as a Spanish lab assistant, Granada is a part of three honor societies: Epsilon Sigma Pi, Sigma Iota Rho and Sigma Delta Pi.

Kathleen Gomez, a STEM Career Counselor who had worked with Granada during her interview process, commented on her work ethic as an individual.

“She’s very hardworking. She is intentional with not only her academics, but to grow as a professional and grow into the professional as she wants to be,” Gomez said.

The NYC teaching fellowship is extremely competitive, and Granada went through a se-

ries of long interviews and tests to be accepted. While Granada was at first nervous about her chances, her teachers and mentors always believed in her, and helped her believe in herself.

Adriane Bilous, Ph.D., the assistant director for the Center for Graduate School & Fellowship Advisement, commented on the necessity of a support system for students like Granada.

“We all know teachers, they are our parents, spouses, siblings, mentors and we all know the passion these individuals have for their work and their students,” Bilous said. “Karen has the desire to teach and the passion to share her knowledge. She’s kind, compassionate, and is open to learning how she can.”

Granada, along with her family and advisors, are all thrilled about this opportunity and what she will go on to do.

“I’m so thrilled for her, I know that this is not easy,” Gomez said. “In really considering her background, and everything that she has accomplished, of course, especially this, I’m just so thrilled for her. I’m so happy for her, I know she’s going to be phenomenal.”

After graduation, Granada will begin the program and will be placed in one of the five boroughs to teach Spanish for grades 7-12 as a part of Cohort 37.

From Japan to Spain: Study Abroad with Manhattan College Gives Students the Experience of a Lifetime

Maizy Swift Asst. Production Editor

With the recent low enrollment in Manhattan College’s study abroad programs, many trips have been canceled.

Each year, Manhattan College offers study-abroad opportunities for all students to take part in. Students have the opportunity to study abroad for two weeks or a semester.

Emmett Ryan, the executive director of global engagement at MC, spoke to The Quadrangle about how many students studied abroad this year, “This academic year, we’ve had approximately 170 students study abroad across all of our programs: fall, winter intersession, spring, and summer terms,” Ryan said. “We have a variety of different courses running: 5 undergraduate classes, 2 graduate classes, and 1 summer research trip.”

Students traveling with Manhattan College this summer are going to Japan, Italy, Spain, England, Austria and the Czech Republic for different classes.

MC’s study abroad program also offers opportunities to join other universities, such as École Catholique des Arts et Métiers (ECAM) in France in collaborative studies.

“We also have 9 incoming study abroad students this summer from ECAM, a Lasallian engineering school in Lyon, France,” Ryan said. “Dr. Bahman Litkouhi developed this exchange relationship many years ago and we hope to send some of our Jaspers to ECAM next year as well for a similar program.”

In fact, MC students can study at any Lasallian university in the world.

“Manhattan College students can also study abroad as an exchange student at any of the 65 Lasallian universities around the world (and vice versa for incoming students),” Ryan said.

However, Ryan describes the lack of enrollment in the summer study abroad programs this year, which makes it difficult for the programs to occur.

“We had to postpone some summer trips that were under-enrolled, but we hope to run all of them again in the very near future,” Ryan said. “One example would be a psychology class taught in a new location for us, Belize, that examines sensation and perception through the lens of marine mammals. The research organization the professor works with requires a minimum number of student participants, so we’re hoping to get a few more on board to run the course this winter.”

The Study Abroad office is hoping to find ways to increase enrollment in the programs, including increasing scholarship opportunities.

“Getting more students to study abroad and enroll in the classes is key,” Ryan said. “The study abroad office is exploring ways to make more scholarships available to students, this will make traveling more accessible to everyone during the intersession breaks, as there is a separate program fee charged for each trip.”

Furthermore, studying abroad is actually not much more expensive at a partner school than a semester here on campus.

“If a student wants to study abroad during the semester (spring or fall), then there is no major cost difference in relation to on-campus tuition if one were to study at a partner school in another country,” Ryan said. “And in most cases, a student’s financial aid package would carry over.”

According to students who have studied abroad, it has been a life-changing experience.

Junior Grace Holodak studied abroad in Rome, Italy for her religion course and described the impact it had on her.

“The semester benefited me in so many ways but I would definitely say I feel more independent than I ever have and I feel way more confident traveling to other countries,” Holodak said. “Living in another country for three months sounds scary but I would recommend anyone that has the opportunity to do so should absolutely do it.”

The experience not only gave Holodak a new sense of independence but a greater appreciation for life.

“I was able to make connections with people from different cultures and learn a new way of life entirely different from my own,” Holodak said. “Now that I’m home I know I’m going to take some of those customs with me, like slowing down and enjoying life rather than living the ‘grind’ lifestyle that many Americans are used to.”

Holodak also expressed the importance of studying abroad as a college student.

“It’s also important to study abroad because at this age we don’t have a ton of responsibilities and you never know when you’ll have an opportunity like this again,” Holodak said. “We’re so young and there’s a whole world out there for us to explore, even if it’s scary, definitely do it.”

Angela Meister, a sophomore, studied abroad in Ven-

ice, Italy. Meister explained that learning in a study abroad class was much more immersive than a typical course due to physically being within the culture.

“Honestly I learned so much more than I feel like I could have in a classroom because you’re immersing yourself in the culture,” Meister said. “It’s not like a sit-down type of event and I felt it was like 10 times more engaging. I think it is something that everyone should experience because studying abroad really opens up new possibilities and experiences and once you start you do not want to stop.”

Meghan Foster, a sophomore, who studied abroad in Florence, Italy for a transnational media class shared a similar experience.

“This experience benefited me as I feel it’s important to immerse yourself into another culture if the opportunity arises,” Foster said. “Studying abroad also allows more confidence and independence. I think it’s important to study abroad because I find it’s important to learn about other cultures and the best way to learn is by living in that environment.”

Studying abroad is not only a supplementary part of the college experience, but also a way to experience new cultures and all the world has to offer. Be sure to stay tuned for study abroad opportunities next semester, and email studyabroad@manhattan.edu with any questions you may have.

Photo of the Eiffel Tower taken in Paris France on a study abroad trip with MC ELISE VISSER/COURTESY

Photo taken in Barcelona Spain on study abroad trip with MC ELIZABETH KALAJJ/COURTESY

MC’s Multicultural Center Offers A Safe Space for Diverse Learning and Community

Manhattan College’s multicultural center sits on the third floor of Kelly Student Commons, welcoming students in with big glass windows as soon as you walk up the stairs.

Here students are able to see people engage with each other with ease, either playing games the center has to offer, watching a movie on the big screen or just simply enjoying the presénteme each of them are able to bring as a student at Manhattan College.

Hayden Greene, the founding director of the multicultural center and also the director of Multicultural Affairs and Student Development at MC, told the Quadrangle where his idea for a multicultural center was based on more than just what is thought of when the word multi-culture is said.

“I started at Manhattan College seven and a half years ago a little bit after Kelly Commons was created.” Greene told the Quadrangle. “I had a blank box to work with, both physically, and metaphorically, because the work of multiculturalism and diversity was already being done in certain ways by different departments who wanted to pitch into that community. And so I was hired

to coalesce all of those efforts, and to really pull them together and put it into one program and to base it out of the actual multicultural center. There’s been a lot of changes since the time that I’ve been here. Before I got here, a lot of the diversity work was as we say in the business, food and festivals.”

Greene was able to explain his goals on creating the center by using his prior knowledge of programs offered at this institution and crafting them to a broader group of people here at MC.

“My goal is to establish programs that deepen the conversation around diversity, and really establish a place where inclusivity is the norm as opposed to the exception,” said Greene. “We created an actual physical space that we think is welcoming and indicative of all of the different ways that people see the world and all the different places that people come from and bring here.”

The multicultural center is always adding different collaborative programs on campus to encourage and deepen conversations between members of our community.

“We’ve done a lot of programs that on the surface may not seem like a diversity program, but our philosophy is if we do a program that everybody loves, and we inculcate a lot of diversity issues with

it and people are able to look around and notice they come from different backgrounds, then diversity and culture is included in everything we do,” said Greene.

Greene shared with the Quadrangle his favorite activity to host and how it embodies the values of the center.

“My favorite event we host here is always Friday Funday Trivia,” said Greene. “I love trivia and sneakily trivia is a way that we really can pass on information because it’s not about the information you walk in with or getting the answer right, but being able to walk out with all the answers. We work really hard in making sure that the trivia given represents a wide swath of identities and different cultures from different parts of the world.”

The next Friday Funday Trivia will be hosted on May 6 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the multicultural center where you can expand your palette from a different country you are probably familiar with, while also playing trivia for prizes you can not miss. Greene explained how importantly diverse the food used during trivia is to accurately represent their goals as a center.

“We believe that food is an equalizer throughout the world and there is often a commonality of food that we don’t talk about a lot, possibly because of

financials,” said Greene. “No one wants to spend their last $20 on a meal they are unsure they are going to like. Our goal is to bring in as many foods as we possibly can and allow people to try new foods without having to worry about spending their own money. By doing this we can bring in new appreciations for the different types of cultures we have and when you start really recognizing that and telling the stories of food, you realize that there are connections between people and their particular experience with the foods they love. And you realize that if somebody else is making that same food, chances are they’ve had a similar experience.”

When the Quadrangle asked students at the center their favorite activities to see or participate in themselves, both trivia bowl or Tiny Talks, two programs only hosted at the center.

“The more people tell stories, the more they recognize the commonality between each other,” Greene stated regarding his program Tiny Talks. “We’re big about storytelling, and so our tiny talk program happens every other Wednesday, and it’s an opportunity for students, staff, administrators and even outside people to come in and tell their stories, and then have students have a conversation about what they

just heard.”

David Sanchez, a freshman civil engineering major has been coming to the center since the beginning of his fall semester and has been going there consistently ever since.

“I originally came to the center with a group of people and then started coming on my own seeing how everyone was treated here with open arms,” Sanchez explained.

Greene told students touring campus on Friday how the multicultural center is considered to many students like a living room in a home where they can just come to be themselves and hangout away from studies.

“I think everyone comes for a specific reason, but one that I feel is common is how coming here gives you the same feeling as coming home and creating that calm space,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez was able to tell the Quadrangle how his relationships with two girls from Egypt who work in the multicultural center have broadened his understanding beyond New York City.

“It’s so fun to be able to speak to them and gain an understanding about how life is over there in comparison to over here,” Sanchez said with excitement.

Vanessa Goncalves is another freshman who entered the center not thinking anything of it, but decided to stay pretty quickly for the people she met.

“A friend of mine one day told me about the center and brought me there, then went right to class,” Goncalves said. “I was just sitting there as a new face, and within a minute of sitting there, having not spoken to anybody immediately, I had people just introducing themselves.”

Goncalves explains that she feels the center is easily welcoming to any person with any preference.

“I bring new people here all the time and I know that if I leave them they’re not just going to sit in silence,” Goncalves reassured. “Everyone’s always going to be open to talk with absolutely no judgment involved. The center has made it so easy, especially as a queer person to just come here and sit and relax as long as I need.”

Stop by the multicultural center on the third floor of Kelly during one of their special events posted on either our MC calendar or their instagram @ mcmulticultural to simply unwind.

Angelina Perez

Web Editor

A recently started chalkboard in the Multicultural center for students to add to as summer approaches here in the city.

Eoin O’Connell Asks Who We Are and Why We Exist

Brianna CoppolaAsst. Asst. Features Editor

Eoin O’Connell, associate professor of philosophy at Manhattan College, is bringing both his Irish roots and his curiosity about the human spirit to her classes at MC.

O’Connell is originally from Ireland and teaches several philosophy classes such as Kant, Modern Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Philosophy of Art and many more.

O’Connell had previously gone to undergraduate school in Dublin, Ireland at University College. Afterwards, he went for his Master’s and doctorate degrees at Fordham University. O’Connell, right from the moment he took one philosophy class, knew that this is what he wanted to do. O’Connell started working at MC in 2008 and has thoroughly enjoyed teaching students about philosophy.

“I mean, I was very glad to get a job in New York City,” O’Connell said. “Especially when you’re graduating from grad school particularly in an area like philosophy where there aren’t like a huge amount of jobs. You don’t really get a choice. You take what you can get but from my perspective, I was very happy to stay here. I was already in New York. I just like the big city kind of thing.”

O’Connell reflected on both his education in Ireland and in the United States at Fordham University. He shared with The Quadrangle some differences between the cultures and the campus life. He also explained that because he did undergraduate in Ireland and graduate school in America, that that was one of the biggest differences.

“In the school I was in in Ireland was the Irish equivalent of a state school in the United States,” O’Connell said. “It was a large, publicly funded institution where you know, thousands of people go and you have massive lectures and that kind of thing. And as for Fordham, even though it’s a pretty big school, it’s still a private, small school. It’s a Catholic school, so it has kind of a religious aspect. It also had smaller classes.”

O’Connell explained how he had to adapt to different cultures in the United States. He had to maneuver around the cultural differences, especially having an accent which was something that came into mind as he moved into teaching.

“So when you’re teaching, the most important thing is to be understood, right?,” O’Connell said. “So to kind of know how to communicate and speak so I had to think about that, how my accent or even my turns of phrase might be understood. So that was a whole range of things that I had to figure out when moving to this country.”

When it comes to philosophy, O’Connell works to incorporate as much as he can into his lessons. There are different traditions in philosophy such as traditions in Ancient Greece or traditions in Chinese philosophy.

“So if you’re teaching the history of philosophy, you will end up omnific,” O’Connell said. “If you’re teaching the history of European philosophy or tradition, you’re going to be covering a lot of European philosophy. And there’s just a lot of very influential thinkers that came out of Europe, particularly in philosophy, we call the Aryan modern period, which is sort of the 1700s. There’s just a range of very influential figures there.”

O’Connell also shared that the main reason why you teach philosophy is because it makes you think about those who have lived before us.

“You think you might be having an original thought but chances are somebody else has,” O’Connell said. “You just don’t know where it came from.”

O’Connell likes to pick philosophers that allow him to talk about big ideas. It allows him to ask questions like “how can we be sure that we know anything?”

O’Connell has been asking himself questions like that since he was a kid. He didn’t know much about philosophy when he was younger, since there weren’t many courses offered in high school. However, being exposed to philosophy in college proved an initial connection to the subject.

“I knew this was it,” O’Connell said. “This is what I’ve been waiting for. And I went from being a pretty mediocre student to being a good student because now I’m doing something that I really enjoy.”

He also shared that he began tutoring other students in school in Dublin. His professors knew he was good in this field and this is how he also knew he wanted to be a teacher.

“Ireland was in the midst of a lot of political turmoil when I was young,” O’Connell said. “So that influenced thinking about, again, where do we get our beliefs from and how can we be sure whether our beliefs are actually true or not. Are we being manipulated by propaganda and the government? Things like that.”

Sarah Scott, the chair of the philosophy department, shared some of her thoughts on O’Connell as a colleague and friend.

Scott mentioned that O’Connell had previously been chair of the department and that during the pandemic, O’Connell had really held the group together. He even helped them

get out of other issues such as a budget crisis.

“He’s been a real leader in the department, taking us through the pandemic and different ups and downs of the last few years,” Scott said. “But I also think somebody that has a real dedication to making philosophy accessible to everyone and focusing on the benefit that philosophy can bring to students.”

Scott mentioned that she learned a lot from working with O’Connell. The department as a whole continues to learn from one another. She finds that understanding someone else’s point of view is crucial before you make any assumptions.

“Another thing is that he is incredibly loyal,” Scott said. “He’s kind of shown me as a chair and a colleague what loyalty means.”

Scott feels that O’Connell has a genuine curiosity about what his students are thinking. She mentioned that he is always fully present in the class, engaging with each student. Scott observed his classes before and felt his lectures were never just lectures because the

students always participated.

David Bollert, associate professor of philosophy, also had many kind words to share with The Quadrangle as someone who has worked closely with O’Connell for 10 years.

O’Connell was described as a wonderful colleague and a friend to everybody. Bollert noted many of his contributions such as providing logical and critical thinking when it came to discussions. Because the philosophy community is small, his contributions don’t go unnoticed.

“I think in many ways, some of Dr. O’Connell’s most important contributions have to do with what he does for our department as a small community, right,” Bollert said. “He’s a very caring individual. He has a wonderful sense of humor. He is someone who, if he thinks that you’ve made a mistake, he is perfectly happy to help you course correct, right. But he does so in a spirit of generosity.”

Dr. Eoin O’Connell, Associate Professor of Philosophy. MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY

The MSA Celebrates Islamic Awareness Week with a Watercolor Paint and Snack

Karen Flores Arts and Entertainment Editor

The Muslim Student Association hosted a watercolor Paint and Snack in honor of Islamic Awareness Week. This event was one out of five hosted during this celebratory week.

Wafa Quhshi, a childhood education major with a concentration in English and the president of the club, explained that they decided to host these events with the hopes of being able to teach students about the Islamic religion and allow there to be a safe space for them to ask questions.

“We attended Catholic college so we wanted to spread awareness about our religion and our close community that we have created within this college,” expressed Quhshi. “People do have questions about Islam and are just afraid to go up and ask us about it. So we decided to make a whole week filled with events where people are comfortable enough to ask questions.”

Hajer Quhshi, a physical education major and the events coordinator of the MSA shared the same sentiments and hopes that more students take part in cultural events like these.

“It gives awareness to Muslims around the school because I think we’re very underrepresented in many aspects. Not a lot of people know a lot about Islam. I think having events like this informs them on what different parts of our traditions mean,” explained Quhshi.

Paintings, calligraphy and art as a whole play a very significant role in Islamic culture

as well as in other religions. Quhshi said that this is one of the reasons why they decided to host a paint and snack where students could all come together and showcase their love for art.

“Art is worldwide and in Islam, it is a very important thing. While we don’t have a picture of our Prophet as other religions do, we have our masjid and then the writing itself in the Quran, it’s basically art,” said [Wafa] Quhshi. “We just wanted to have like a fun kickoff thing that everyone could enjoy while also getting to know each other.”

The event consisted of watercolor painting on canvases and tassel bookmarks. The snacks table included a variety of cotton candy, pastries, bagels as well as drinks.

Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims all over the world during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. This is to commemorate when the Quran was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad. During this month, Muslims practice fasting, praying and self-reflection while also setting goals during the month with the hopes of starting good habits. This celebration ends with the fast-breaking festival of Eid alFitr.

Shaib Sharhan, a junior physics major and the social media coordinator for the MSA said that they decided to celebrate Islamic Awareness Week after Ramadan so that everyone could enjoy snacks while painting with their peers.

“We wanted to do Islamic awareness week after Ramadan so those who are Muslim could have food and snacks so we thought the best week

would be the week right after it ended,” said Sharhan. “Some people were fasting and doing other stuff so we wanted a time where both Muslim and non-Muslim students could paint and snack together.”

Sharhan said that their main goal was to bring people together while also sharing parts of their religion and culture.

“So these events just want to bring people together. If you look at some of the paintings, they have Arabic writing, some are filled with flowers and sunsets. It just opens up other people to see Arabic works and Islamic works and lets them share their own.”

Gema Garcia, a mechanical engineering major, expressed that while she was first drawn to the event because of the painting aspect, she enjoyed getting to know about Islamic traditions through meeting

new people.

“Campus groups like this one can make people all come together. The art is what caught my attention and well as the snacks. But being at the event and hearing about what people did during Ramadan and Eid was both informative and interesting. I enjoyed this and painting my bookmark a lot,” expressed Garcia.

To keep up with the MSA events next semester, follow their Instagram page @manhattanmsa

Students paint on canvases and bookmarks while enjoying snacks. KARENFLORES/COURTESY

Some of the art donated to the MSA for the prayer room. KARENFLORES/COURTESY

Students talking about Eid celebrations while painting. KARENFLORES/COURTESY

Meet Synne Iversen Kverndal; international superstar

Caroline McCarthy

Senior Writer

Synne Iversen Kverndal, a self-taught trumpeter and the next president of the Manhattan College Pep Band, came to Manhattan from Norway in the fall of 2020. She has since found a home in the performing arts department.

Kverndal began her musical career in her hometown of Heistad, Norway when she was eight years old in an old movie cinema turned concert band rehearsal space. She began her career on the euphonium, a medium-sized tenor-voiced brass instrument, similar to a small tuba.

“It’s [the euphorium] mostly background music,” Kverndal said. “Sometimes you get a melody, sometimes you might get lucky and get a solo. But it’s like a more melodic tuba.”

She began experimenting with the trumpet after six people in her orchestra quit unexpectedly, leaving only two phonemes, one drum, one flute and one clarinet to produce the music of a full concert band. For five years, Kverndal played the parts of first, second and third trumpets to fill the void of missing instruments.

This process consisted of reviewing the music and determining where one trumpet’s

part should stop, and where the next begins. Instead of using those moments as a break, Kverndal played straight through, creating the sounds of three seats of trumpets from one person.

Heistad sits on the southeast coast of Norway and is known for two things - the production of “concrete fabric”, or the powder that creates concrete, and ice cream. Though animated in the summers, Kverndal describes her hometown as rather dull in non-coastal months.

“[Heistad] is flourishing during the summer,” Kverndal said. “But it’s dead during the winter. The five ice cream shops [in my town] shut down for the season.”

Kverndal recalls the town next to her having a large music scene, where some of the biggest musicians in Norway perform in the summer months. Kverndal worked in the area on summer breaks to be closer to the music.

Her self-taught nature of the trumpet does come with limitations, Kverndal has learned. Occasionally, she will find herself struggling to hit the higher notes on the trumpet, which requires more training.

“Sometimes [there are songs like] ‘24k’ at basketball games - I’m self-taught. I can’t play it,” Kverndal said.

Kverndal earned one of the

few coveted performing arts scholarships during her sophomore year at Manhattan after joining the pep and jazz bands. According to the Manhattan College website, scholarships are awarded to students who “demonstrate exceptional ability in the area of instrumental or vocal music” and participate in a minimum of two performing arts ensembles.

Kverndal said she was ineligible for the scholarship her freshman year because she was unable to play a wind instrument at an in-person rehearsal. During the fall of 2020, the College had strict mask rules while on campus.

Kverndal was offered to join the orchestra via Zoom, something she had little interest in performing through an online platform.

“I didn’t want to do band on Zoom, so I just didn’t join anything,” she recalled.

In her sophomore year, she joined pep band and jazz band. Pep band performs at all home men’s and women’s basketball games as a part of the spirit team on campus. The jazz band has a series of performances throughout the year.

Kverndal is admittedly a naturally more shy person, but after joining the performing arts department, she has been able to come out of her shell. She credits this mostly to her roommate, Emily Peters.

Zoe DeFazio

Web editor

“She’s like a very bubbly person,” Kverndal said. “I’m very much like an introvert. So hanging out with her and all of the other outgoing people [helped].”

Peters refers to the relationship of Pep Band members as a teamlike atmosphere.

“[The relationship] varies from different performing arts group to different group but I know Pep Band feels like we are really close-knit because we think of ourselves as more of a spirit squad than performing arts,” Peters said.

“We get left out of the performing arts bubble sometimes,” she continued. “So we

kind of fend for ourselves and formed our own little group and we’re like a little family.”

Next year, Kverndal will serve as president of the pep band. She previously served as secretary of the group during the 2022-2023 school year.

“It’s really delegating and asking people to do their job,” Kverndal shared. “And I’ll have more communication with the director.”

Kverndal is a double major in international studies and peace and justice studies, with a minor in Spanish. She hopes to utilize this career to become a human rights activist.

Kverndal simultaneously played first, second and third-string trumpet in her hometown concert band for

Bem vindo ao Brasil

JASPER JAMS

Welcome to Brazil! The air is light and warm, fruit is everywhere, the food tantalizes you and the music makes you feel a rhythm you couldn’t fathom before.

I’ve always been a proud Brazilian woman. My country represents me better than I ever physically could. The history behind my home is something I value and the history of my family is something that I’ll always treasure.

My mother came to the United States in 1996, but even though she physically left Brazil, she brought a piece of Brazil with her. The music that she played always brought her back home.

Growing up in a Brazilian household, these classic songs always played. The memories bring a smile to my face. I can vividly remember my mother playing these songs in the kitchen as she would make me

my usual Saturday breakfast of Pão de queijo

Bossa Nova is the primary music genre in Brazil. It represents a relaxed style of samba, the national dance. These songs hold a special place in my heart and I hope you enjoy the trip.

Mas Que Nada by Sérgio Mendes

I consider this a welcome song. To me, it showcases the excitement I felt when I first arrived in Brazil. It’s a song that’s inviting, draws you in and makes you wanna take part in fun activities such as visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue located in Rio de Janeiro.

Baianá by Barbatuques

Now this song implements the rich African culture that remains in Brazil. Brazil imported more enslaved Africans than any other country in the world, and because of this a lot of African traditions have been implemented in not only music but lifestyle as well.

Desafinado by Stan Getz and João Gilberto

A soft, gentle song that feels like the breeze flowing through your hair as you sunbathe. Feel your skin absorb sun rays as you become immersed in the melody. Getz and Gilberto is a powerhouse in the Brazilian community. Each and every one of their songs has a special place in my life.

Carolina, Carol Bela by Toquinho

This is one of my personal favorites. To me, and this might be really weird, this song feels like cocoa butter. I usually play this song after my Sunday reset shower as I lather on my cocoa butter lotion. I pretend that I’m in Brazil with my family eating strawberries with sweetened condensed milk drizzled on top.

Pot-Pourri: Coisinha do pai/ Vou Festejar/ Carnaval Globeleza 2 by Jorge Aragão

This is a medley of songs. Each song represents an aspect of Carnaval, Brazil’s biggest celebration. Globeleza is the face of Carnaval. Every year a woman of high status becomes

the queen of Carnaval. To me, she represents beauty and femininity in a cultural and spiritual way. During her commercial she is typically seen not wearing any clothing, however, her body is painted in glorious designs with bright colors as she sambas in heels as her song plays.

The Girl from Ipanema by Stan Getz and João Gilberto

It wouldn’t be a Brazilian playlist without this song. Do yourself a favor and play this song, but make sure the lyrics are in Portuguese. This song is the most beautiful song I’ve ever come across. Ipanema is the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen, and this song represents the beauty of nature and the beauty of being a woman. The song talks about a gorgeous, vivacious, transcending woman who walks along the beach. The singer is sad because he is incredibly in love with her but cannot bring himself to tell her. Every day she walks by him and everyone

sighs in disbelief at her beauty, she never looks at him, but he sees her, not just her face, but her soul.

Scan here to listen to The Quadrangle’s playlist!

five years. SYNNE KVERNDAL/COURTESY

Multilingual Jaspers Avoid Penalties with Creative Curses

Caroline McCarthy

Senior Writer

Passion and communication on the field are essential for any successful soccer team. However, overly passionate players communicating by using inappropriate language might just be what tears the Manhattan College men’s soccer team apart this season.

The Manhattan College men’s soccer team consistently sits at the top of the list for the most red cards in a single season. In 2022, the Jaspers had four red cards and 49 yellow cards. In 2022, head coach Jorden Scott made it a point to his players that swearing would not be tolerated on the field, they still earned four red cards and 41 yellow cards.

Brandon Joseph-Buadi, a graduate of Manhattan College and senior on the 2021 team, held two of the cards that sea-

son.

The issue, according to Coach Jorden Scott, is many of the team’s international players are unaccustomed to American referees being strict against the use of profanities. All three players who received penalties in 2021 are international players. Joseph-Buadi originally played in England, while Bounab and Kuntz both played in France prior to their time at Manhattan College.

“I feel like where we’re from, especially the European players, the way we react and deal with things is by letting out our frustration,” said Joseph-Buadi. “It’s very normal in European countries to say the odd curse word but [in the US] it is frowned upon to say anything and you get punished for it. It is something that really does take getting used to and is difficult to adjust to.”

This, according to Scott, is why Manhattan College tied

for 5th in the NCAA for the most red cards issued in 2021. The following year, they tied for third, however, none of the cards issued were for foul language – only foul play.

During the 2021 season, three of Manhattan College’s four red cards were issued in the same 15 minutes playing against Temple University. The Jaspers’ emotions ran hot during the match when they fell behind after the 11th minute. Manhattan was desperate to stay in the competition. In the 39th minute, Manhattan player Johan Velez scored his first goal of the season. The intensity of the tied game only worsened the Jaspers’ frustration and profanity, which enraged the unnamed referee.

“I think he had enough of us shouting and letting out our frustration so simply sent us off the field,” Joseph-Buadi said. “I think he had a difficult game and knew he was struggling

with some bad decisions so us players being on top of him and not letting him forget caused him to send us off the field.”

MAAC Standards state that the conference “requires the highest ethical conduct by all institutional personnel and demands the highest commitment to integrity, ethical behavior, and fair play in all athletic endeavors.” It continues to say the use of “profanity or provocative language or action toward an official” is highly inappropriate and prohibited by the conference.

“We’re in an environment that is completely education-based,” said Scott. “It’s about teaching. It’s about learning. It’s about making mistakes and learning from it.”

The referee did not issue any warning about swearing resulting in a red card, Scott said. At one point, a Manhattan player swore at a regular volume while speaking with his coach

near the sideline, and the referee ran over to them to issue a card. This, Scott said, is unacceptable. Manhattan College has filed a complaint against this referee and is awaiting an investigation into the game.

Coach Scott recommended an interesting technique to avoid future penalties. He’s instructed all of his players to express explicit emotions in different languages so that American referees are less likely to understand.

“When you go to Europe, and you watch players play at the youth level in the professional level, you will see and I was one of them, players and referees who swear at each other in a social fashion,” Scott said. “We’ve even encouraged our international guys to speak if they don’t speak in English, obviously, to swear in their own language.”

Meet Jasper Athletes from Across the Globe

Kyla Guilfoil Managing Editor/Sports Editor

Manhattan College has become a home-away-fromhome for many international student-athletes, from basketball, to track and field, to soccer. These athletes have made a leap of faith by traveling far from their families, friends and hometowns. However, despite adjusting to a new city, and country, these athletes have shown they are crucial for Manhattan’s teams. Let’s see where some of our top Jasper players joined us from.

Andrew Simard

Simard, a middle distance and distance runner for the Jaspers, is a native of Manitoba, Canada. Simard says there hasn’t been too much of a change from home. However, Simard does say there is a noticeable difference in the temperatures, since he often runs outside for training. As a freshman, Simard said that he has felt very welcomed on to the track and field team here at MC, and is excited for his future seasons.

Jade Blagrove

Blagrove, traveling to the States from the Netherlands, just wrapped up her junior year season with the Jaspers. Bla-

grove has been a key player for the squad, who made it to the MAAC Championship game two years in a row. Blagrove transferred to MC after spending her freshman season with the University of South Florida. She said the drive of New York City was major in getting her to join the Jaspers.

Ivan Lytovchenko

Lytovchenko comes to Manhattan from Dnipro, Ukraine. A freshman jumper on the college’s track and field team, Lytovchenko has been a standout performer in his rookie season. He recently won the high jump by two meters at the 2023 Outdoor Metropolitan

Championships at Icahn Stadium. Lytovchenko told The Riverdale Press that he is proud to be Ukrainian and is grateful to be at MC.

Christina Katsamouri

Katsamouri is a senior on the basketball team here at Manhattan. Katsamouri is a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, graduating with a degree in communications from MC. Katsamouri has been a critical player for the team, helping to make crucial plays in the 2023 MAAC tournament. On top of being a top-tier Jasper athlete,

a project that creates TV news segments based on campus news.

Nassim Akki

Akki, a freshman on the men’s soccer team, was named Male Student Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Jaspys, an annual award ceremony honoring all of the college’s teams. Akki came to join the Jaspers’ squad from his hometown of Bordeaux, France. Akki was named 2022 MAAC Defender of the Year and was named 2022 First Team All-MAAC. Further than the MAAC, Akki

son by Top Drawer Soccer at number 89.

Kristin Stickdorn

Stickdorn is a junior thrower on the Jaspers’ track and field team. She has proven herself to be a top performer for the squad. Joining the Jaspers all the way from Germany, Stickdorn has made a commitment to the team. Stickdorn was recently named MAAC Field Performer of the Week, just days after achieving the Manhattan College hammer throw school record. Stickdorn threw a 59.09 meters throw, claiming the re-

Jasper Alum Courtney Warley Shoots for her Goals in Portugal

Soccer, the biggest sport across the world, brings together those from all corners of the globe. Here at Manhattan College, 15 different players on the men’s soccer team’s roster are international student-athletes that came to Manhattan with one goal on their mind: to win a MAAC Championship for their school.

Jordan Scott, head coach of men’s soccer, spoke about how his roster represents the idea of New York City.

“There’s not a player on my team that would say that they’re just American,” Scott said. “ If you sit in my roster, you sit in my change room and you ask the guys where they are from even though they were born in America, their families are from different backgrounds so I would say that that diversity symbolizes New York City … When I think about building a team, it symbolizes New York City, it gives opportunity to people from all over the world. That’s what I wanted to do with this program.”

From England to New Zealand and France, there are a multitude of different playing styles of the sport in the athlete’s home countries compared to the United States. Henry Hamilton and James Cotter spoke about how the playing style is different in New Zealand and England respectively compared to the United States.

“ [It is] much more fastpaced at home,” Hamilton said. “It’s slightly more tactical, things have taken a bit slower, and you try and work out different ways to break down defenses. Whereas here, I feel like it’s more just quantity over quality. We try to just break down as many times as possible. Keep going, and keep knocking down barriers, whereas at home it’s more patient to take your time a bit more.”

Cotter found the opposite to be true.

“I think over here, it’s very, it’s much more fast-paced compared to back home,” Cotter said. “It’s not as technical. It’s all about getting the result.

We’re not at that stage in our career where it’s all about growth, it’s about results. We don’t really think about ourselves and how we play and how we do as much, it’s all about the three points. at the end of the day.”

When you join a team with different backgrounds and styles of play, you become vulnerable to things you could never have predicted. Playing with athletes from all around the world can help you develop as a person both on and off the field.

“Everything has changed,” senior Anthony Denis said. “Every day, you will learn something about someone. We have people from South America, African players … we have every part of the world so just you have to learn. I know when we never played the same scale as I used to.”

Denis said that it is important for international players to adapt to whatever coach they are playing with. He said that this can be difficult, as he and other players may have learned about soccer differently in their home countries, but it is crucial to make sure a team adapts together and understands each other’s styles.

Coming to the United States from another nation is undoubtedly a cultural change. The move from one culture to another brings with it experiences you did not anticipate. Midfielder James Cotter spoke with The Quadrangle about his experience playing on such a diverse lineup.

“It’s fun,” Cotter said. “You’re always learning about different backgrounds, you never feel like you know somebody because they’re always different. Back home, I played a lot of football with people that I grew up with since I was seven, eight years old. Then you come here, you meet a whole new team. When I first came, I didn’t know anybody I spoke to like one or two over the phone and that was it. I learned a lot about different cultures. I feel like the best thing is you’re always learning about different people in different cultures.”

Coming from different cultures can make it difficult to adjust to playing with people

you’ve never met before. The cultural diversity of the men’s roster may aid in bringing everyone together.

“It’s really important things on the spot of our team,” Denis said. “We are able to just get on the field and we know each other now, we can joke around, we just respect each other and it’s good sometimes to just learn something.”

Hamilton told The Quadrangle it has been part of the process to find compromise with other players.

“I think something our team’s really good at is finding a middle ground because obviously, everyone’s from different backgrounds we deal with situations differently, on and off the field,” Hamilton said. “We’re very good at finding solutions. So although we get into troubles on the field or arguments off the field, just the way that people deal with things. We’re always able to come to agreements and that sort of thing. Just having a middle ground and finding respect for each other.”

With an international roster comes language barriers and differences in culture. Scott discussed how he uses culture

on the field to foster unity and communication.

“This year we made a huge step,” Scott said. “COVID was really difficult for us because we couldn’t interact with each other, and when we could, it was minimalized. This spring, in particular, we’ve taken the time to get to know each other.”

The men’s soccer team implemented a program called the Championship Meetings, which is aimed at building relationships between players according to Scott.

“Every other Wednesday, give or take, we would sit down and discuss core values within our group and how to define it between each student-athlete,” Scott said. “We teach them communication skills. We talk about what respect means in different cultures. We spoke about religion last week, how to maintain eye contact, how to ask questions, and how to de-escalate the conflict. During that whole process, what I think we found was that we’re very different, and sometimes what we believe to be the definition or the way to behave or act may be completely opposite from our teammate, and it may affect him negatively.

By having those open lines of communication … it can make a tremendous difference.”

Players have found the championship meetings to be very successful as it allows the players to open up to more conversation, Scott told The Quadrangle.

“In every meeting, we’re having now at the moment as players are planning out the summer in the fall, and they’re leaving,” Scott said. “Every player has said that [championship meetings] really helped them because they got to talk to people on a different level that they would never ever spoken to,” Scott said. “I think that’s going to be important for our program moving forward is that we continue to help each other and learn and educate each other on what everyone feels and what they see and what their cultures are and we if we do that will only become stronger and maybe that one word or action could impact someone’s day, maybe their happiness, maybe their mindset, which will hopefully lead to better performance on the field.”

Isaiah Rosario

Asst. Sports Editor

Manhattan College men’s soccer team, huddling around each other during the 2022 MAAC quarterfinals against Fairfield. GO JASPERS/COURTESY

WRGC Drops “L” From Official Name

Angelina Persaud & Grace Cardinal News Editor and Asst. News Editor

Kelly Marin Honored as 2022-23 Distinguished Lasallian Educator

According to Manhattan.edu, “Marin was chosen for her dedication and passion as a faculty member and colleague who leads with empathy, wisdom, honesty and humility.”

MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY

Political Science Department Welcomes New Assistant Professor

Rebecca Kranich Social Media Editor

After a four month search, Manhattan College’s political science department has chosen a new assistant professor. Adam Howe, Ph.D., will replace Winsome Downie, who is retiring at the end of this semester.

Howe is a current postdoctoral fellow at Utah State University and was a visiting professor at Fairfield University. He earned his Ph.D. from Florida International University in 2019 and specialized in comparative politics, specifically within Southeast Asia. Some of his research examines the

relationship between non-democratic regimes, religious groups and the roots of political violence.

Pamela Chasek, department chairperson of political science, states that a solid research agenda was crucial to screening candidates.

“We didn’t want to hire someone who could not get tenure, and to get it, you have to be a good teacher, but you also have to be a productive scholar,” Chasek said. “Our fears were if somebody we hired did not have a good scholarly record or have things in print, moving along, if they didn’t get tenure, we didn’t know if we’d be able to hire again.”

The opportunity to hire came after months of stalling

from administration. Once Chasek received approval to begin the search process, applications poured in.

The search committee included herself, Johnathan Keller, Elizabeth Nelson and Margret Groarke. Over 135 candidates applied from all over the country, yet only 10 received virtual interviews. The top three candidates were invited to campus to teach demonstration classes.

Chasek explains how important classroom demonstrations are. Furthermore, Howe’s presentation led to the committee’s unanimous decision to offer him the job. She stated that

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Manhattan College’s Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC) has officially removed the Lasallian designation from its name, yet confusion remains among students and staff as to the lack of communication and circumstances of the sudden change.

The center’s name originated from the needs of students who wanted a place to openly have discussions regarding women’s health and reproductive rights at a Catholic college.

Ronald Gray, vice president of student life, explained to The Quadrangle that the reasoning behind removing the “L” was not intended to be a political statement but was a decision made to free the center from any potentially negative religious connotations.

“When we talk about Lasallian, we’re talking about Lasallian Catholic values,” Gray said. “When it was discussed, the impression was to give the WGRC more freedom by taking the ‘L’. We didn’t want it to be the Lasallian Catholic Women’s and Gender Resource Center. I think that the concern was that it would be limiting the WGRC if we added the Catholic connotation to it.”

Gray also stated that the advising team and interns were supposedly tasked with communicating the name change on behalf of the center, yet no formal statement was shared with the MC community following the discussions.

“I think we wanted it [the

name change] to come from the center itself, and I think we just missed the boat on that. I expected another cycle of conversation, but it didn’t happen.”

Jordan Pascoe, Ph.D., faculty co-founder of the WGRC, explained to The Quadrangle that when the center was first created, they modeled themselves after the WGRC at St. Mary’s College, the only other Lasallian institution with a women’s center. While their center did change their name, students were highly involved in the process and an open conference was held. Pascoe said that while the WGRC at MC was meant to evolve, student involvement should have always remained the priority.

“Watching St. Mary’s taught us from the very beginning that you’ve got to be ready to evolve,” Pascoe said. “You’ve got to be ready to rethink and reframe yourself as needed. So I’m open to name changes. I feel strongly about the procedural question.”

Pascoe also emphasized that students should feel ownership of the center as it’s run for students, by students.

“It was founded by students and is run by students on a day to day basis,” Pascoe said. “I want to make sure that students feel that they have ownership of the center and I think that should include ownership of the center’s name. I’m not sure what to think about this name change, I am worried that students did not play a role in it.”

Junior Elena Willoughby

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

The Editorial Board

Jocelyn Visnov Editor-in-Chief

Kyla Guilfoil

Managing Editor

Angelina Persaud News Editor

Angelica Niedermeyer Features Editor

Karen Flores Arts & Entertainment Editor

Kyla Guilfoil Sports Editor

Adrianne Hutto Production Editor

Rebecca Kranich Social Media Editor

Zoe DeFazio

Angelina Perez Web Editors

Lauren Raziano Multimedia Editor

Grace Cardinal Asst. News Editor

Brianna Coppola

Asst. Features Editor

Mack Olmsted Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor

Andrew Mannion

Isaiah Rosario Asst. Sports Editors

Mack Olmsted

Maizy Swift Asst. Production Editors

Mary Haley Asst.

Social Media Editor

LETTER from the EDITOR

Hey Jaspers,

Welcome to the last issue of the Spring 2023 semester! This semester has truly flown by, but hopefully you’ve made the most of it.

Per Quad tradition, our final issue highlights ten notable members of the graduating class in our version of The Times 100 titled The Quad 10. These students were chosen by Quadrangle staff members as some of the most influential members of the class of 2023 and I hope you’ll join me in congratulating them.

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

Speaking of seniors, this issue also includes farewell messages from Quad staff members graduating in the coming weeks. Each of these wonderful seniors have made significant contributions to The Quad during their time here and they will be greatly missed.

Among The Quad’s graduating seniors includes Cari McCarthy, who served as our Sports Editor for over a year where she managed to put Jaspers athletics in the news multiple times. Graduating senior Anna Woods served as Editor-in-Chief in 2021 and changed the trajectory of my Quad career when she tasked me with the role of Asst. Production Editor allowing me to foster a love for design as I spent each Sunday doing layout. I was introduced to senior Jilleen Barrett via zoom when she was assigned as my Quad scholar mentor. Jilleen has since become one of my favorite people to talk to and someone I know will always have my back.

To all of our Quad seniors and the class of 2023 as a whole, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! If you’re ever curious as to what’s been going on at your old stomping grounds, you know where to look.

Thank you for trusting The Quad to bring you your campus news each week! Thank you for trusting me during my first semester as Editor-in-Chief and thank you again for your generosity in our recent fundraising efforts.

We’ll be back in the Fall to continue to inform and excite the campus community. For now, enjoy the warm weather, take a deep breath and wipe those tears away (I’m looking at you, seniors.) We’ll be back to doing journalism very soon!

Sincerely,

Manhattan College Offers New Online MS in Healthcare Informatics

Caroline McCarthy Senior Writer

Manhattan College has introduced a new online Master of Science in Healthcare Informatics, with courses that combine healthcare, information technology and data analytics to improve patient outcomes, clinical care and healthcare management.

Executive Vice President and Provost William Clyde, Ph.D., spoke about the addition of the course as part of the School of Health Professions offerings.

“We are thrilled to be adding healthcare informatics to our growing list of offerings in health professions,” Clyde said. “Housed in our School of Health Professions, this degree will prepare graduates to work in a rapidly growing field that is critically important to the efficiency and effectiveness of our health care system and the quality of patient care.”

According to Healthcare Management Degree Guide, healthcare informatics relies

on information technology to gather, categorize, analyze and “implement patient solutions using existing resources and devices.”

Within a healthcare institution, there are multiple chains of facilities that work together to create the optimal experience and care for patients. Healthcare informatics allow these chains to communicate effectively with one another to optimize patient care and produce more favorable outcomes.

Students enrolled in the program will complete a total of 36 credits over a 16 month-period through seven-week intensive courses. According to manhattan.edu, classes will not meet on campus and will be offered either synchronously by online real-time lectures or asynchronously by pre-recorded lectures and readings.

To complete the degree, students will be required to take classes in statistical computing, clinical information systems, principles and applications of databases, project design and management, data

security and privacy, programming, and more.

To be accepted into this program, applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or institution, a background in behavioral sciences or teaching experience and a 3.0 undergraduate GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Healthcare informatics is a growing industry that focuses on using technology and data to improve the quality and safety of patient care, enhance clinical decision-making, reduce costs in healthcare delivery, promote population health and public health initiatives and support medical research and clinical trials.

Cathy Dwyer ‘98, is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Burke Rehabilitation Center. She spoke about the necessity of healthcare informatics in the field today.

“Healthcare Informatics is a very important tool for the delivery of patient-centered care that results in the best possible outcomes for each patient,” Dwyer said. “Working towards

the Healthcare Informatics degree will help you become an integral part of the management and leadership teams at any institution.”

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) reported the average salary for nonsupervisory healthcare informatics positions is upwards of $63,000 per year, while supervisory positions are upwards of $79,000. Higher level executive positions can earn more than $125,000.

A masters degree in healthcare informatics could earn students competitive jobs in the

fields such as a healthcare data analyst, clinical informatics specialist, health information manager, healthcare IT project manager, health data scientist or healthcare IT consultant.

According to manhattan. edu, MC will be working with local health centers to establish internship opportunities for master’s degree candidates to develop hands-on training along with their studies.

Admission into this program will be done on a rolling basis. More information on how to submit your application can be found on manhattan. edu.

Leo’s Scala Room Receives a Makeover

Zoe DeFazio Web Editor

The Scala Academy room in the Leo Engineering building has been undergoing renovations after almost 22 years and significant progress has been made.

The Scala Room was previously used for meetings and presentations for engineering students, staff and faculty.

After the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, NYS had to update their EGRESS codes. These are policies that are put in place to aid people when evacuating a large building in extreme circumstances such as fires and health emergencies. The room was also deemed non A.D.A compliant.

According to UpCodes, buildings in New York State need the proper amount of emergency exits to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people who work in that space. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center, the codes are always being updated.

“Two exits or exit access doorways from any space shall be provided where the design occupant load or the common path of egress travel distance

exceeds the values,” according to UpCodes’ website.

After the construction of the Higgins Engineering and Science Center, Manhattan College had to re-evaluate floor plans to ensure the safety of the individuals who use the buildings.

The room was originally used to hold presentations for accepted students day and orientation; however, it has sat alone in the dark for a few years due to its accessibility issues.

Tim Ward, dean of the School of Engineering, spoke to The Quadrangle about the future plans of the room. Ward hopes the room could be used for gatherings, such as inductions for honor societies on campus.

“Before, we were not subject to the codes in the existing legal building, but now we are subject to the codes that affect both Leo and Higgins, and the Scala Academy room,” Ward said. “Leo 236 and Leo 215 used to be spitting images of one another. The Scala Academy room was then renovated, and put back and put it into the great shape that it was.”

The room has been stripped of its flooring for new tiles, and a portion of the entrance wall has been knocked down

to place two larger and wider doors for a safe and easy exit in case of emergencies.

“There’s a lot of wear and tear within the Scala room because of the upholstery,” Ward said. “We can’t have that kind of wear and tear. And so that’s why we limited its use.”

Ronald Gray, vice president of student life, stated that the construction is expected to be finished within the next few weeks and that it will be in full use by the fall 2023 semester.

When asked what the biggest priority is when it comes to restructuring campus and renovating certain areas, Gray stated that synchronizing the placement of construction and the use of the facility is the biggest factor.

“[The biggest priority is] Coordinating the scope of renovation work among the affected college departments,” Gray stated in an email to The Quadrangle.

Although the room’s maximum occupancy will decrease from a total of 130 to 57 people, the Scala Academy room is ready to make its grand return to Manhattan College to once again serve as a place for students and faculty to commune for events.

The room has been stripped down to be renevated. DONOVAN VINCENT/ COURTESY

WRGC Drops “L” From Official Name

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

spoke to The Quadrangle about the message the unannounced name change sent to students, especially those involved with the center.

“I feel like it definitely conveys a message that what we’re doing isn’t Lasallian, which it is because one of the Lasallian values is inclusivity,” Willoughby said. “Social justice is another Lasallian value…just because we’re talking about reproductive justice and an issue that a lot of people cannot relate to, doesn’t make it any less Lasallian. It’s definitely uneasy.”

Zachary Schwab, a senior who identifies as non-binary, echoed Willoughby’s sentiment and spoke to The Quadrangle about the message the name change sent to students in the LGBTQ+ community. They specifically noted that social justice, a key characteristic of the Lasallian tradition, should be at the forefront of conversations like these.

“I’m non-binary and I don’t think this stuff should be political,” Schwab said. “I mean, it’s just basic human rights. I know they just put in that new [preferred name and gender] policy. Then they take away their support of the WGRC, that just really strikes me as off. I think [it’s about] supporting people and their basic human rights, and I don’t think it necessarily has to be political.”

Robin Lovell, Ph.D., director of the geography program at MC, spoke about the center serving as a place of refuge for many LGBTQ+ students and faculty.

“Given the recent lack of support/response from the administration at MC and the Catholic Church more broadly on LGBTQ+ issues, this is a clear signal to our queer community that the center is a place of refuge,” Lovell wrote in an email to The Quadrangle.

Gray does not believe that the current political climate surrounding women’s health and religion was relevant in the reasoning behind the WGRC’s name change. Rather, he acknowledged the center’s open conversation regarding politically charged issues such as abortion rights and reproductive health for women.

“I think the intention was to reframe the term ‘Lasallian’ to make sure that we keep the Catholic identity attached to Lasallian,” Gray said. “The intention was not to harm the center, the intent was to free up the center from, I don’t want to say stigma, but the possible constraint.”

Pascoe noted the swiftness of the name change despite a lack of consultation with students and faculty. She acknowledges that the center openly discusses issues relating to abortion and contraception and is hopeful the change will allow for wider conversations about these issues moving forward.

“Those of us who were on the faculty advisory board also don’t know how or why it happened,” Pascoe said. “My hope is that part of what this is signaling is a willingness to allow these conversations to happen within the center by maybe creating a little bit of a space between the center and the religious commitments of the college. For college stu-

dents, this is not a theoretical question and the conversation is not going to fade away any time soon.”

Schwab identified that the lack of student involvement in important decisions is a pattern they have seen in their last four years at Manhattan.

“I just think that it’s really, really crummy,” Schwab said. “That’s the word I’ll use because it just shows it’s a pattern the school has. The school has shown repeatedly over the past few years they don’t necessarily care to talk with the student body or provide for the student body.”

Gray also mentioned that there is to be a lunch set up between the students and President Daniel Gardner to continue facilitating necessary conversation regarding the center.

He also mentioned that a group of students he met with posed a powerful argument questioning why there wasn’t room in the college’s Lasallian ideals for the work they do. He hopes that the student’s conversation with Gardner will help develop a deeper notion of what it means to be Lasallian.

“The students said to me some really interesting things…the notion that ‘where is the space for them?,” Gray said. “I think that is absolutely right, that the Lasallian values should incorporate them and the removal of that silences the work that they’re doing. And so I said, ‘I think that’s a fair statement and a fair conversation to bring up to Br. Dan’.”

Willoughby also stated that while the name change was sudden and widely uncommunicated, they are glad that the

center will continue to be able to carry out its work in the future.

“When I was told about it [the name change] I was definitely confused,” Willoughby said. “But at the same time, when I thought about it more and more, I was like, ‘oh, this is exactly what they wanted the whole time’. It is better that they change the name rather than dismantle the whole program.”

Pascoe highlighted the importance of the center evolving in tandem with the priorities of the students to ensure it remains a refuge for all.

“Students change over time. As students change, their priorities change,” Pascoe said. “So, you know, I think that the most important thing is that the center stays really responsive to student priorities, and that it just continues to be what

the students need it to be, because that’s what it was always intended to be.”

ferred name and gender] policy. Then they take away their support of the WGRC, that just really strikes me as off. I think [it’s about] supporting people and their basic human rights, and I don’t think it necessarily has to be political.”

Robin Lovell, Ph.D., director of the geography program at MC, spoke about the center serving as a place of refuge for many LGBTQ+ students and faculty.

“Given the recent lack of support/response from the administration at MC and the Catholic Church more broadly on LGBTQ+ issues, this is a clear signal to our queer community that the center is a place of refuge,” Lovell wrote in an email.

Political Science Department Welcomes New Assistant Professor

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

students being engaged with the professor during a lecture is a key factor to determine if they’re hired.

“The classroom performance is the final factor,” Chasek said. “It’s when you see how they are, how they engage the students and what they do in the class. Because that was our first priority. We could sense that he was a nice fit personally, but his class was just really great. And we were all really impressed with how he did that class.”

Mohammad Mattabar, a sophomore political science student, sat in on all three mock classes and chose Howe as his favorite candidate after recalling Howe’s presentation on democratic backsliding.

“He [Howe] had a nice

presentation style, and it was an engaging class. I think it’s always boring when you have just a lecture,” Mattabar said.

Howe explains that simulations are critical to his teaching style, going outside the box of lecturing.

“As an instructor, I enjoy leading simulations and having students participate because of the conversations that emerge from it, and its application of theories to the real world situations in global politics,” Howe said.

Chasek explains that Howe’s specialty will open new avenues for class offerings.

“It’s always good to have new blood come in,” Chasek said. “It changes the dynamics, and having someone who can come in and teach different classes is always exciting. You add something new to the mix.”

Mattabar also explains that

he would take one of Howe’s classes in the future, noting his approachability and personality.

“I would probably take a class if I could,” Mattabar said. “I think he was a pretty nice guy. I like to be able to personally relate to professors or have someone who’s chill.”

The connection with students is not only a priority to the department but for Howe personally. He explains that he is excited to work with MC students in many ways.

“I’m excited about everything,” Howe said. “The teaching part of it is what gets me extremely motivated. From my conversations with students in class and the ones we have outside the classroom. To me, that’s the most important part of the job and what I love doing the most.”

In particular, Howe is planning to introduce students to

new topics and encourage them in their professional journeys.

“But I’m really excited to introduce students to new topics and encourage students to develop both academically and professionally,” Howe said. “Because Manhattan College has relatively small class sizes, I’m able to do that more effectively.”

Howe stated how excited he is to join the Manhattan College community next fall, emphasizing his eagerness to engage with students.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and forming new relationships with students in the classroom, but also as a mentor,” Howe said. “I would like students to know that I pride myself on being accessible, doing my best to meet with students and getting involved right on campus.”

The original logo for the WGRC which included the “L.” @MC_WGRC/COURTESY

Adam Howe will be the newest addition to the political science department at MC.

senior Farewells

Caroline McCarthy Asst. Sports Editor | Asst. Features Editor | Sports Editor | Managing Editor

The Quadrangle has been my only constant throughout my four years at Manhattan College. It has served as my defining characteristic, identity and “fun fact” in almost every classroom introductory ice-breaker. I have been so lucky to experience the mentorship mentality that runs through the Quad, and can’t imagine college without it.

One of the Quad’s former editors-in-chief, Megan Dreher, showed me the Quad scholarship at a Jasper Dancer clinic in 2019. Her encouragement for me to try out for that team and apply for this scholarship shaped my entire college experience. Gabriella DePinho, her successor, gave me my first masthead role and calmed all my fears surrounding it. Pete Janny took me under his wing as his assistant for the sports section, something I never thought I would be any good at and now can’t imagine my life without.

In the fall of 2021, I took a sports reporting and writing class taught by Jared Diamond. Under his guidance, Maddie Mulkigian and I were able to break a story in the Quad about the women’s volleyball coach’s vaccination status that gained national attention and was aggregated by the New York Post.

When Pete stepped down as sports editor, Kyla Guilfoil and Jilleen Barrett, two of the most powerful women I have ever been lucky enough to work with, took a chance on me. Their decision to give me the role and later name me a managing editor literally changed my life.

I found my niche for reporting on the Manhattan College coaching staff sagas, tormented Masiello for a few years and learned the importance of journalism that doesn’t make everybody happy. I faced backlash from the administration, formed relationships with athletes and grew as both a writer and storyteller with every byline.

My goals coming into this position were to encourage more female sportswriters to join the team and distribute coverage equally among Manhattan sports. My assistants, Maddie Mulkigian, Angelica Niedermeyer and Isaiah Rosario, were instrumental in this effort and frequently carried the section themselves.

My work on the Quad earned me an internship at the Yankee Entertainment and Sports [YES] Network and later my current role as a digital intern at the New York Post. I fittingly had my first byline reporting on Manhattan College coaching staff changes on the basketball team in the Post’s sports section earlier this month.

I often think about the very first assignment in Thom Gencarelli’s Comm 101 class, which asked us why we wanted to be a communications major. I wrote about my lifelong dream to be a journalist in New York City and be a part of something special. Thom told me Manhattan College could make that happen for me - and it has. The Quadrangle has taken me outside of my comfort zone so many times that I have had to redefine the concept as a whole, and I am so grateful for every opportunity I have gained from it. Congratulations

Megan Lacreta

Asst.Features Editor | Arts and Entertainment Editor

When I came to Manhattan, I had big dreams of doing the most college-y thing I could think of: joining the student newspaper. However, my 18 year old nerves got the best of me. Sticking my neck out, interviewing people I didn’t know and writing things for others to read just seemed like too big a mountain to climb.

When COVID hit, and the first half of college went by in a flash, I found myself a second semester sophomore with nothing to do other than sit in a dorm room. My roommate, Kelly Cwik, was writing for The Quad, and she offered to co-write an article with me. I conducted my first-ever interview next to Kelly over Google Meet, using the Lee Hall wardrobes as a backdrop. When it was published, we taped it up on our wall, and drew a little heart around the byline. That byline became the first of many, and the catalyst of an amazing two and half years with The Quad.

I have The Quad to thank for a lot of things, but most of all, I am thankful that it has given me the confidence to pursue something I love, and the people who pushed me along that path. I am so grateful for Anna Woods and Christine Nappi, who took a chance on me and let me take over the Assistant Features Editor position mid-semester (I also have to thank Anna for doing a semester in DC and letting me borrow the Quad Scholar spot; I learned so much in one semester). I’m so grateful for Kyla Guilfoil, who trusted me to be her A&E Editor. I am incredibly and eternally grateful for my other section editors, Jilleen Barrett, Nicole Fitzsimmons and Cari McCarthy, for listening to me complain, answering all my AP style questions and for pushing me to be a better journalist, whether they knew they were doing it or not. And I am endlessly thankful for Nick Gilewicz, for all his help and guidance despite my lack of a Comm major.

The Quad has meant so much to me, and has been one of the most important parts of my time in Manhattan. Journalism could’ve stayed an intimidating, unattainable concept forever, but this paper and these people brought it within reach for me. Without The Quad, I wouldn’t have the experience I needed to get a real internship at a real paper and maybe even someday get a real job doing journalism. No matter where I end up down the road, I’m so glad I got to do journalism here first, with all of you.

Mars Ross

Photography Editor

While I may not have been the most consistent writer for The Quad, I found my place as the photography editor. With my previous experience primarily in fashion photography, The Quad allowed me to further develop my passion by exploring new subjects. This role also taught me how to take a more critical view of the composition of photos and how they communicate to audiences. I greatly value these skills and the knowledge I gained during my time at The Quad. Everything I’ve learned here will help guide me in my pursuit of fashion journalism and photography after college!

I truly enjoyed helping writers bring their articles to life through pictures. I’ve seen how hard everyone involved works to make every issue a reality, so I’m grateful to have been a small part of that. I know The Quad is being left in the best hands possible and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here!

Nicole Fitzsimmons

Staff Writer | Asst. News \ Asst. Features | News Editor | Senior Writer

The Quadrangle was my first introduction into Manhattan College and it continued to be a home space for my entire experience here. Through different future plans, direction changes and tragedy, my spot as a writer for the Quad remained constant and important to me. Looking back on my experience entering as a freshman–where I was extremely shy and a bit confused about my new setting as a college student– I always thought the older members of the masthead were cool, smart. Of course, I was intimidated.

Fast forward to working alongside these upperclassmen as assistant news and features editor, I realized they were as awesome as they seemed. When Anna Woods, EIC at the time and graduating senior, offered me a spot to be news editor in my upcoming junior year, I remember shopping with my boyfriend and immediately calling my dad in shock. I took this as motivation to keep growing and succeeding in this experience. My time as news editor carried me into my junior year and into my senior year with EIC Kyla Guilfoil, and became a spot where I felt appreciated, welcomed, open and professional on campus. I don’t know what my Manhattan College experience would have been like without this role. I gained so many skills and important knowledge in organization, leadership, detail, writing, and time management– pretty much a bunch of skills I can use for every role I take on.

Some landmark moments I want to mention as a farewell to the Quad is my first experience seeing my name in print, bringing issues back to my parents and family to read, co-writing and making new friends freshman year and being news editor during a pandemic. Amidst these moments, I realized more about our publication than that it taught me to learn so many skills and created so many memories. Moreso, I truly know and understand that the newspaper on campus is essential to the community.

The writers I have come into contact with have such a passion for truth and community that is so welcoming to see on a small campus, and even more important to see in an uncertain period in time. I always loved the quote “Democracy dies in darkness,” and I think our publication emphasizes some of the key aspects of journalism that are so important. I am going to miss this community in my next experiences, but am going to carry its most important values on.

Thank you to the Quadrangle for a great and unforgettable experience. Thank you to the MC community for trusting our reporting. Thank you to the staff for trusting me these past 4 years.

senior Farewells

Anna Woods

Staff Writer | Asst. News Editor | Editor-in-Chief | Senior Writer

Never in a million years did I think that a little closet on the fourth floor of Kelly, would be where I felt most at home during my time at Manhattan College. I remember being equally terrified as I was starry eyed when walking into the Quadrangle scholarship workshop my freshman year. Never in a million years did I think it would change my life in the way that it did. Being elected Editor-in-Chief my sophomore year altered the trajectory of my life. All my successes I’ve achieved at MC I accredit to what I’ve learned on the Quad.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of my time here has been the friendships I’ve made. Working on the Quad is strange, heartbreaking, and extraordinary all at the same time. It’s a weird place that only those who have worked on it truly understand. Thank you to the strong female leaders that came before me; Megan Dreher and Gabs DePinho, who modeled what true leadership is in the face of adversity. They both pushed and encouraged to want more for myself and chase after my dreams. Nick Gilewicz, thank you being our soundboard in times of crisis and the paper’s biggest cheerleader.

To my fellow seniors, I am honored to have written alongside these past four years. To everyone on the paper that I have to say goodbye to, continue fighting the good fight and never stop writing. There’s a quote from Wicked the musical that best encapsulates my feelings towards The Quadrangle: “Because I knew you I have been changed for good.” Thank you for everything.

Maddie Mulkigian

Asst. Sports Editor | Senior Writer

I am so thankful to The Quadrangle for the experience and friends I gained while being part of this community. Coming into Manhattan College, I never would have thought that I was capable of finding and covering the amazing stories I did. The Quad allowed me to explore myself as a reporter and writer and pushed me to find stories I would have been too scared to do four years ago. I can walk away from this experience with my head held high and a portfolio of pieces I am proud to call my own. There is nothing like the community that The Quadrangle creates and I will be forever thankful for the support this paper has given me.

I would also like to give a special thanks to Cari McCarthy and Kyla Guilfoil for being such amazing supporters during my time with The Quad. Thank you to everyone who was involved in and read my articles- I hope to continue to provide entertainment in my future career in public relations!

Kelly Kennedy Staff Writer | Asst. Production Editor | Asst. Social Media Editor | Social Media Editor | Senior Writer

I am so grateful for these past four years here at Manhattan College. Going away to college was so scary for me, and looking back I can’t see why I was ever even nervous. I’ve had an even better college experience than I ever could have imagined.

So much has changed since I was a freshman, but every Tuesday at 4pm I was always in the same place. Joining the Quad was the first thing I ever did at college, and I am so happy I made that choice.

I became a part of the Quadrangle as a Quadrangle Scholar my freshman year along with Cari, Anna and Nicole. It is so crazy to look back at where I was four years ago, sitting in the club room during freshman orientation knowing no one. I am so grateful for the scholarship, and it has been amazing to grow alongside these girls.

Manhattan is the place where I’ve been able to grow into the person I’ve always wanted to become. When I came here I was so shy, but interviewing new people every week helped me become so much more outgoing. Writing new articles every week and seeing people be so excited and happy about what I wrote gave me so much confidence in my abilities. I’ve met so many amazing people and have grown so much over these past four years thanks to this newspaper.

I almost cannot believe that I will be graduating so soon. I’m so sad that this time is up, and I would do anything to go back to my first Quadrangle meeting in 2019 and do it all again. I am so happy and grateful for everything that has happened over the years, and for all of you.

I can’t wait to see all that you guys do. Enjoy this time, and don’t waste a single minute!

Jilleen Barrett

Asst. Arts and Entertainment Editor | Arts and Entertainment Editor | Managing Editor | Features Editor | Senior Writer

It’s hard to say goodbye to something that I spent so much time working on throughout college. Being a part of The Quadrangle was the thing my classmates knew me for; it was what I essentially formed a large part of my personality around as I entered young adulthood and “found myself.”

Most of my college memories involved writing a story, editing an article, interviewing someone or doing anything that was needed for this paper that I could help with. I threw myself into this work because as a freshman, I realized that sharing important information with the community I was a part of was something that fulfilled me. I got to tell readers about the conditions of the dorms where they may have had to quarantine — and warn some unlucky students to bring some snacks just in case they didn’t get food when they were supposed to. I was lucky enough to report news on last year’s controversial commencement and major changes across campus as the pandemic sparked a multitude of newsworthy happenings. I got to connect with people within the administration and show them the importance of student journalism. I also wrote fun stories about the college and the people who make it such an amazing place to be. I wrote and reported so much that I can’t even list all of my favorite articles here — and I consider that to be a huge privilege.

Many of you may be aware that being a professional journalist is a goal of mine. Being a part of The Quadrangle played a huge role in getting closer to obtaining that goal; I learned how to report news, write about sports and refine my skills in feature writing. I learned more about team management, community building and of course, Associated Press Style. I got plenty of bylines, which was exciting not only because I wanted examples of work for job applications, but also because it was absolutely exhilarating to know information and be able to share it with the members of this community.

But being part of The Quadrangle was also about meeting people who would become important figures in the rest of my life. For example, the people who offered me the chance to practice journalism in order to learn about it. If it were not for Rose Brennan ’20, Megan Dreher ’20, Christine Nappi ’22 and faculty advisor Nick Gilewicz, who all supported me immensely, I would have never gotten to work on The Quadrangle or obtained my internships with The Riverdale Press or the American Society of Magazine Editors. I’d also like to thank Jess McKenzie, a friend of mine from freshman year who made me feel included on this paper from day one. When Jess transferred, I got the chance to work as a Quadrangle scholar, something I may not have gotten if she hadn’t been so willing to co-write my first ever Quadrangle article with me.

Congratulations to my fellow senior writers of The Quadrangle; I’m so happy to have had the chance to work with you all!

The Quad 10 is similar to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, but on a Manhattan College scale. The ten following members of the graduating class of 2023 were chosen to be recognized by staff members of The Quadrangle as some of the best and brightest seniors MC has to offer.

Interviews compiled by Karen Flores, Kyla Guilfoil, Zoe Defazio, Grace Cardinal, Rebecca Kranich and Jocelyn Visnov.

Doriz Yari

Doriz Yari has mixed passion and community in her four years at Manhattan College. Yari has been an integral part of the work-study program with CMSA since her freshman year at Manhattan. In addition to her massive dedication to helping others, Doriz serves as an RA in Lee Hall and is on the executive board for both the Tri Beta and Alpha Epsilon Delta honor societies. On top of her many extracurriculars, Doriz manages a heavy workload through her major in biology and minor in chemistry.

Yari’s favorite part of her time at Manhattan has been her work toward social justice. Much of her work focuses on immigration, which is an issue close to her heart, as a daughter of immigrants herself. Both her freshman and senior years, Yari was able to attend L.O.V.E. trips in El Paso, Texas. She said that comparing her first trip to her last was a full-circle moment in her life.

“My freshman year I went on a love trip to El Paso, Texas where we did a social justice reform trip to talk about what happens at the border. Full circle moment, I went back on the same L.O.V.E trip last month. I went for the first time my freshman year as a participant, I led it last month when we went back. It was really nice to be able to see the progression of different things that have happened since we last went, and it was just a really full circle moment.”

In her future, Yari sees a career as a cardiologist. Before that however, she plans to travel abroad. “I'm taking two years off between completing my undergrad degree and going to medical school. In that time, I'm studying for my MCAT. I’m going to Thailand this summer and to Barcelona. I plan on finishing off in South America. I've been to Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador. I plan on maybe doing Europe because I have two years off, it's gonna be really nice.”

Yari reflected on her decision to attend Manhattan and where it has led her to today.

“When I first first chose Manhattan, I was really weary of it. I was not sure if it was the best fit for me. As cheesy as it sounds, it really ended up being the best for me and I really loved my four years here.”

Rosalia Cefalu

Rosalia Cefalu has certainly left a lasting impression on Manhattan College in numerous ways.

Originally from Boston, Cefalu is a business analytics major, a James Patterson scholar and a research fellow for the O’Malley School of Business. Cefalu also worked as a Data Assurance & Technology intern with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). She has been a tour guide for all four years and has served as vice president of social life for Sigma Delta Tau in 2021 and is the current vice president of social life for student government.

Cefalu explains that the crowning jewel of her time at MC was her term as SDT sorority president in 2022.

“It changed my entire life. It's a role that made me more confident. “I think being president was kind of just a wow moment for me where I went from ‘Oh, I'm trying to do all these things to I’m actually doing all these things. It inspired me to enjoy being a leader, and it's the thing that just made me who I am today,” said Cefalu.

Celfalu has dedicated her four years to the MC community and states that her most valuable contribution has been her term as vice president of social life for student government. She explains that despite setbacks, this year's board brought events to campus.

“Because Student Life was hit with budget cuts this year, I'm really proud of my work operating through those budget cuts and still having some memorable events like getting NAV for Spring Fest and still having Senior Week this year,” she said. “I'm also working with John O’Connor to plan the unofficial Senior Week. There was a lot of adversity when it came to planning these events, but I think myself and the board really persevered and got some really good events.” As she prepares to graduate, Cefalu will stay in New York City and return to PwC to work full-time while studying part-time for her MBA.

Donovan Vincent

Donovan Vincent Jr. arrived at Manhattan College after finishing two years at Westchester Community College. He will graduate with a major in chemical engineering, with a concentration in biopharmaceuticals and a minor in computer engineering.

Vincent explained that the decision to attend Manhattan College wasn't easy, but found that being a Jasper is just what he needed.

“When I first applied to Manhattan College, I was really stuck between on whether I was gonna come here or go to Binghamton, but really those were the two choices that I boiled it down to, and I'm really glad that I chose here. Since I've come here, I've been part of a lot of activities.”

Vincent is no stranger to campus organizations. Throughout his time at Manhattan College, Vincent has made significant contributions with his involvement. Vincent became a part of the men's rowing team, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and Omega Chi Epsilon, the chemical engineering honor society.

Vincent dedicates his work towards everyone at the chemical engineering department for helping him reach his goals.

“There's been times where I'm stuck on so much stuff, right? And they're like, ‘yeah, you know, well have you tried to do this?’ They're so willing to help out with everything and it's like, such a great feeling.”

As Vincent prepares for the next chapter of his life, he remains humble. Never forgetting where he came from.

“After I graduate. I'm still gonna be a jasper. So go Jaspers. And now that I'm about to be an alumni, I’ll come back, see some of the games and give back to the school.”

Vincent will be attending Johns Hopkins University where he will pursue a doctorate degree in chemical-biomolecular Engineering as well as a masters degree in mathematical statistics.

Anna Woods

Anna Woods has been an active member of the Jasper community for all of her four years. She’s a passionate liberal arts student who has shown her dedication to social justice and helping fellow students strive to do their best.

Woods is a political science major with minors in Spanish and digital arts and humanities. Throughout her time at MC, Woods has been involved in a plethora of activities. She served as the general manager for WRCM Radio for a year and has held numerous positions

on The Quadrangle’s masthead, including being elected Editor-in-Chief in 2021. Woods has been involved in the WGRC and worked for the Voter Engagement Committee during the pandemic. She currently works at the Writing Center in the Center for Academic Success and she was part of the Summer 2022 Cohort of WISE.

“I'm looking forward to moving back home and traveling this summer.” she said. Then, you know, waiting to hear back from a job. Like right now I'm looking into either government affairs or fundraising, so looking at either of those.”

As she prepares to graduate, Woods looks back fondly at the memories made over the past four years.

“I just think Manhattan College is such a special place and it really is what you make it, so if you make the most of it, it will reward you tenfold.” She said, “And I'm so sad to be leaving and I'm just grateful that despite COVID and everything our class has gone through we're able to graduate in, you know, a time of normalcy., which is great. I'm gonna miss The Quad and everyone but I’m so grateful.”

Caroline McCarthy

Caroline McCarthy is a shining star at Manhattan College. A communications major concentrating in journalism with a minor in marketing, McCarthy can be found everywhere around campus, performing with the Jasper Dancers in Draddy Gymnasium, editing LOTUS Magazine and the sports section of the Quadrangle in Kelly Commons or presiding over Pen and Sword Honor Society Meetings as president.

However, McCarthy got off to an unconventional start at MC — she left.

At the beginning of her sophomore year, McCarthy decided to transfer to the University of Alabama. However, within just a few weeks, she was back at MC.

McCarthy credits communication professor Thom Gencarelli, who she calls her “one call” from Alabama, with guiding her back to Manhattan, and pushing her in pursuing a career in journalism.

“The fact that I can say casually to someone who works at the school, ‘I think I made a mistake,’ and for them to not even try to force me to come back… You learn that it's okay to take chances, but it's also totally okay to be wrong and to admit that and to just start over,” McCarthy said.

When she returned, she had lost her position on The Quadrangle’s masthead, but through her dedication was placed as assistant features editor, and eventually sports editor her junior year. McCarthy had never seen herself in sports journalism before, but a sports reporting class with the Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond — and a controversial article cowritten with Maddie Mulkigian on the Jasper’s unvaccinated women’s volleyball coach that caught the attention of the New York Post — started to change her mind.

“I realized that… it's a whole microcosm of reporting, like there's financial news, there's human interests, there's so much that goes into sports reporting,” McCarthy said. “And the most important thing was that people were actually talking about some of the stuff that goes on here. So I just kind of got hooked.”

McCarthy draws a direct line between the volleyball article and her post-grad plans to join the New York Post as a digital producer for the sports section.

While she defines herself as a journalist, McCarthy remarked that it was not the center of her MC experience. The Jasper Dancers, she said, were the most important thing to her throughout college years.

“I'm really happy that I have a job and that I get to do journalism, and that's awesome. But dancing was where my heart was for the last four years.”

Teddy Segmuller

Teddy Segmuller leaves Manhattan College behind with a unique footprint. A major figure in academics, athletics and community outreach, Segmuller is known as a friendly, reliable and diligent face on campus.

Segmuller will earn her Bachelor of Science in exercise science / pre-physical therapy this May before heading downtown to receive her Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) from New York University’s prestigious program.

She will graduate having been inducted into Phi Epsilon Kappa, Pen & Sword Honor Society, and Epsilon Sigma Pi.

Segmuller not only has made a name for herself in the classroom, but also as an athlete.

As an athlete, Segmiller contributed greatly to the college’s swim and dive team. As a freshman, Segmuller contributed to the record-breaking 200 and 800 freestyle relays by MC at the MAAC Championships. In her junior year, she broke both the school record in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, as well as contributed to breaking the 200 and 400 freestyle relay records.

Segmuller not only uplifted the swim and dive squad as a leader in points, but also as a captain of the team during her senior season. As she battled a serious injury throughout her last season, Segmiller continued to show up for her team and offered support, guidance and long hours to ensure the team’s success.

On top of her dedication to her own team, Segmuller has also served on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee throughout her college career, currently contributing as vice president of the group.

Segmuller has helped lead a multitude of community outreach events through SAAC, helping to unite the college with its surrounding community. However, one of her most impressive initiatives happened right on MC’s campus.

Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, Segmuller worked with the college’s administration to start a system to better recognize mental health on campus. The “Support Awareness and Care Initiative” is meant to come into full effect next August, as the college will begin printing several important phone numbers onto all student ID cards, including mental health hotlines. This semester, the initiative began with giving out bag tags and phone wallets with the same phone numbers.

Jilleen Barrett

Jilleen Barrett has certainly left her mark on Manhattan College. The communications major, concentrating in journalism with a minor in women and gender studies, has held a number of masthead positions on the Quadrangle, was vice president of diversity and inclusion of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority and led the Kairos retreat her senior year, among numerous other positions and accolades. With so many different positions under her belt, Barrett’s experiences at MC have become intertwined, each influencing the others.

“I started recognizing the serendipity between the classes that I was in, the retreats that I went on, the clubs that I was in, and how they all kind of worked together to teach me different things,” Barrett said. “So I would learn something in class and then it would happen to apply to something I was doing the same day or something else that would happen.

For example, Barrett took her experience as the second-ever vice president of diversity and inclusion for SDT with her in her mission to reshape LOTUS Magazine as co-Editor-in-Chief. Barrett spent two years, alongside co-EICs Lily Brown and Cari McCarthy, working to make the magazine the MC cultural phenomenon it is today.

“I think that we started to really prioritize including people of color, including men, including transgender people, as well as women

and people of all body types,” Barrett said. “We also got a pretty diverse masthead, and we had a very diverse set of editorial content. I am really proud to have arranged a team and attracted people who were interested in writing things like that, because… everybody should be able to see themselves in LOTUS.”

Barrett’s current post-grad plans involve freelancing, a skill she has developed in her magazine writing class and independent study with communication professor Arshia Anwer. While her ultimate goal is a career in magazine writing, she has no intention of limiting herself in her journalistic pursuits in the meantime.

“I would be very, very happy to continue going towards magazines, but I would also definitely like to keep my mind open about what I want to do and where I'll end up,” Barrett said. “I feel, just like at the beginning of college, like I'm at the beginning of something new and I have to figure out where I can go and where I can get paid and where I can exercise all the skills that I've gathered from here.”

John O’Connor

With a wide range of extracurricular activities and involvement, John O’Connor is a friendly face to many.

You may recognize O’Connor from his being the first male Jasper Dancer in MC history. In doing so, he was able to inspire his peers and other incoming students to try something they’ve never done before. Having worked professionally in the arts before his time here at MC, O’Connor was able to bring in a new perspective to MC’s Players as well and be an important part of their productions for the past 4 years.

O’Connor has been inducted into Sigma Iota Epsilon and Epsilon Sigma Pi, proving to be an exceptional student. O’Connor was also chosen for the Horan Family Scholarship which is gifted to a student who exemplifies what a true Jasper student can be. O’Connor dabbles in a variety of other disciplines. He is currently Vice President of PRSSA, creates and hosts his very own podcast titled “Dear John.” He has also held multiple internships, most recently having worked with LeagueApps as a People Operations Intern. O’Connor has also worked for MC Admissions and gained accolades for being recognized as one of the top tour guides in January 2023.

Post-graduation, O’Connor hopes to work in either human resources or sports entertainment. With multiple offers, he feels in no rush to choose his path just yet. Aside from his professional goals, O’Connor expressed his personal interest in taking some time to travel. During his time here, he was often described as someone with exceptional school spirit.

“This is what you make of it,” O’Connor said. “If you’re struggling, and you’re not sure if it’s right for you, take the chance, join an extra club… If you are questioning your place, channel that energy and put it into something. The outcomes will be endless.”

Ali James

Ali James is graduating with a degree in Public Health with a concentration in healthcare administration and a minor in management. She will be working as a National Advisory Committee Fellow on Rural Health and Human Services within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon graduation. James hopes to be able to work towards making “healthcare policies more supportive of people of color and lessen healthcare disparities.”

James has been involved with various organizations on campus. She has been part of the Bias Education and response team with the Diversity Council, the vice president of Academic Affairs in Student Government, a Public Health ambassador in the Kinesiology department, a student success mentor at the Center of Academic Success and an Intern in the Women and Gender Resource Center.

She has also conducted research with the WGRC about the impact of microaggressions on people of color in MC as well as research centered around analyzing campus climate through the creation of a Socio-Ecological outcomes model. James has expanded her horizons and used her knowledge in places like the New York Presbyterian Hospital within the Division of Community and Population Health where she has been an outreach intern since her sophomore year, a Summer Youth Experience Coordinator and a Lang Youth Medical Program Educator.

James is the first Harry S. Truman Scholar in MC history and has also been awarded the Newman Civic Fellowship. From being a representative for the MC student body to being a leader in COVID-19 and First Aid events, James has excelled in all her endeavors. She hopes that students keep an open mind and look for opportunities that can expand their perspectives and most importantly to challenge themselves.

“Definitely try to stay open-minded. There were a couple of opportunities I didn't necessarily want to participate in but I ended up doing which opened so many doors,” said James. “If I never took those chances I would never be in the place that I am today. Seeking out new found classes, anything that challenges you is really important.”

Christopher Machol

Christopher Machol is graduating with a dual degree in Finance and Economics with a concentration in environmental economics. He will be working as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve within the International Finance Division upon graduation. His involvement on campus spans a variety of areas. He has been the president and an active member of the MC Investment Club and has been involved in the Fed Challenge as well. He is also a member of the LGBTQ+ Club and has also been a tour guide for prospective students.

Machol has used the skills he cultivated at MC in places like Everest Insurance where he was an underwriting intern in the Cyber Division and has also worked in the Bronx River Alliance as a data analyst intern and also participated in initiatives to revitalize the New York City aquatic ecosystems.

Machol has been involved in two research projects both of which he has presented in conferences. He was a research assistant under Hany Guirguis, P.h.D, a professor in the Finance and Economics department and their research paper, Inflation and Price Discovery in the G7 Countries, was accepted into the 2023 National Business Economics Society Conference in Puerto Rico. He also conducted independent research on the Impact of Weather on Photovoltaic Energy Production. He conducted data analysis during his internship at the Bronx River Alliance for his research and it was accepted at the 2023 Eastern Economics Association and Midwestern Economics Association Conferences.

One of the things that Machol believes to have been significant during his time at MC is the mentorship and vast opportunities offered. He hopes that students will take advantage of the expertise given by professors and the different clubs offered. “I’d say just getting involved in as many clubs and activities as you can. The most impactful experiences have been my relationships with professors within the economics department,” said Machol. “[These relationships] have helped me grow as well as helped me figure out that this is the [career] path that I want to go down and have also opened up a lot of doors for me.”

WGRCHostsAfterHoursProgram, DiscussesDatingataPWI

Rebecca Kranich Social Media Editor

On Thursday afternoon, Zoe DeFazio, Ciara Dalton and Gabriela Sandoval hosted After Hours: Dating at a PWI as a person of color. This session concerned romance at a predominately white institution, or PWI. The After Hours program is an expansion of the Love in the Dark Series, where female-identifying students gather to discuss issues such as love, sexual health and more.

This week, the Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC )was filled with students of all ages, majors, races and sexual orientations/ identities. The topics were also diverse, everything from sex lives to past relationships was open for discussion. However, many students shared similar experiences of imposter syndrome, self-confidence and challenges within interracial relationships.

Sophomore Nayelis Minaya shares how attending a PWI has led to feelings of imposter syndrome.

“I went to a predominantly Hispanic high school and middle school,” said Minaya. “So, my whole education has always been with other Hispanics. So coming to college, I remember

the first day I walked in, and all I saw were white people. I felt imposter syndrome where I was like, ‘How am I going to manage being here?’ Because I felt as though my past educational background was less than that of white people because of society’s standards.”

One factor that has helped sophomore Sofimar Encarnacion during her time at a PWI has been the Multicultural Center (MCC).

“The MCC helped me find my own community, and I felt less alone,” said Encarnacion.

Sophomore Maddie Fitzgerald echoed similar sentiments and mentioned that the center brought her and her boyfriend together.

“It’s the best place to meet people of different cultures,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s where I met my boyfriend and all my close friends.”

Another topic of the program was interracial relationships. Fitzgerald discussed the importance of acceptance as well as the learning experiences that come with mixing cultures.

“I’m dating a Dominican man, and I think it’s very important to embrace absolutely everything about the person that you’re dating, which includes their entire culture,” Fitzgerald said. “My boyfriend

has shown me what traditional Dominican food is like and what Dominican parties are like. His mother has accepted me, but that was scary in the beginning.”

Similarly, Sandoval is in an interracial relationship and shares some of the difficulties of dating outside her race.

“It was definitely a culture shift. But he is very conscious of my culture, and he respects it,” Sandoval said. “He’s also Bulgarian, and I’ve never met someone like him. It’s been hard to tell my family, specifically the older generations like my grandmother and great-grandmother, that I’m in a relationship with a white man because Dominican culture is

very strict on staying within their culture.”

Lastly, Sandoval shared how she has used her identity as a Dominican woman at a PWI to educate others and hasn’t let the negative stereotypes get to her.

“I have been able to teach, and I’ve been made aware of certain situations,” Sandoval said. “Since I came from a high school where I was considered a black woman, I have always been the odd one out. But I think I’ve kind of molded it into my identity, and I’m not gonna take it negatively. I’m honestly gonna embrace it and embrace my culture. I’m not gonna let being at a PWI ruin my experience or identity.”

Similarly, Encarnacion emphasizes how she strives to always be herself regardless of the spaces she enters.

“I grew up in the South Bronx, mainly a black and Hispanic community,” Encarnacion said. “Then I moved to Florida at 15, and I went to a primarily white high school. So when I came here, I went in with the assumption that I was going to have to be true to my lived experiences within a white space. I’m very aware of myself. I’m not going to cater to anyone. I’m gonna be true to my experiences as a Dominican woman.”

Editor’s Note: Zoe DeFazio is Web Editor at The Quadrangle.

ProfessorsOrganizeFirstAnnualSOLACelebrationEvent

also honor their alumni and create that network and relationship again, not just for fundraising, but also for the networking purposes.”

dents don’t want to major in some of the liberal arts because the jobs don’t pay as well. But that’s a reflection of our society as well.”

The School of Liberal Arts (SOLA) has invited alumni, recently retired faculty and friends of the college back to campus for the first annual SOLA Celebration event. The celebration will bring the community together to recognize several distinguished alumni for their contributions to the arts.

After numerous months of planning, the event is set to take place on Saturday, May 6. The initiative was spearheaded by Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.d, who serves as the Director of the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Center and a Professor of Religious Studies.

Afridi came up with the idea as a way to strengthen relationships with SOLA alumni, increase visibility for the school and garner financial support.

“We had never really done a fundraiser and I’d always seen the School of Business and the School of Engineering do it.” Afridi said. “And, you know, it’s important that the School of Arts has some visibility, but

The celebration event will acknowledge several distinguished alumni who have made significant strides in their careers since graduating from SOLA. Among the honorees include Ethan Van Ness ‘13, Pamela Segura ‘14, Cristian Gonzalez ‘17 and John Paluszek ‘55.

Paluszek, despite having graduated from the O’Malley School of Business, is being honored for his commitment to furthering liberal arts education at MC and exemplifying the college’s core values as an alumni.

Part of the motivation behind the event includes showcasing the benefits of studying liberal arts disciplines and debunking the common misconception that studying the arts is not as lucrative as other areas of study.

“We realized that a lot of courses are in the liberal arts because we are really committed to enriching students and society, basically that’s why we’re here.” Afridi said. “And we realized that a lot of stu-

By bringing alumni and faculty of the past and present together, Afridi hopes to highlight the benefits of a liberal arts education.

“I think that the School of Liberal Arts is really trying hard to say basically ‘we want a full human being.” Afridi said. “We want a full human being that has the opportunity to grow and explore and enrich themselves in whatever field they want to go into, you know and I think that that message needs to be coming back to the nation. That’s why I wanted to do it. And so people can see we [the arts] do need funding, we do need to be prioritized because our faculty work so hard for the mission.”

Cory Blad, Ph.D, Dean of SOLA, explained the importance of keeping liberal arts alumni connected to the Jasper community.

“We’re really just trying to re-energize and develop new ways to connect with alumni,” Blad said. “To show them a little bit more of what we’re doing

now and some of the ideas that we have for the future, and really to hopefully get them to kind of see us as, you know, a little reminder of the times that they had here, and the positive impact that hopefully, the school liberal arts had on their lives.”

Blad also mentioned he hopes the SOLA Celebration event will become an annual event, in addition to potentially adding other similar events meant to strengthen alumni connections and gain support from the community.

Heidi Laudien, Ph.D, asso-

ciate professor of English was the co-chair for planning the upcoming event working alongside Afridi. Laudien expressed her excitement and optimism for the upcoming event.

“I am hopeful that the event will increase the visibility of the School of Liberal Arts and raise funds to support students and faculty,” she wrote. “It is my hope that this event will be the first of many annual SOLA alumni celebrations and that it will allow us to strengthen our connections with members of the MC SOLA community.”

Students meeting at the WGRC for After Hours program REBECCA KRANICH/THE QUADRANGLE

Jocelyn Visnov Editor-in-Chief

Poster for the SOLA celebration event. MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY

CatchingUpWith CrochetClubAt TheirSpringEvent

come better at crocheting.

The crochet club recently gathered at their spring event to celebrate the new season by giving students a space to learn and create tiny crochet flowers while listening to music and chatting.

Established almost a year ago, the crochet club meets weekly on Mondays for students to keep a designated time in their busy schedules for their hobbies. Three times per semester, the club hosts special themed events such as the Spring Event with yarn and a themed crochet idea for students to enjoy together.

The crochet club was created by Samantha Perricelli, Jessica DeFeo and Isabella Vidales to foster an open community to engage in creativity and learn about arts outside of the classroom.

Perricelli, a junior civil engineering major, first began crocheting a few years ago and emphasizes the importance of having time to meet and engage with your favorite hobbies.

“We just really wanted a dedicated private space to crochet because, you know, college is kind of hectic and it is a hobby of ours,” Perricelli said. “It’s nice to have a set hour every week that you kind of have to go and crochet.”

A major curve to learning crocheting is the difficulty of the beginning stages. Perricelli states how the crochet club is meant to be an open space to learn with a group of students, some with more experience.

“Everyone does it differently, so each board member and experienced crocheter is going to tell you a different way to do things, but you have to just keep doing it,” Perricelli said. “If you buy a kit, use the kit, and we’re totally open for you to take yarn back with you after the meeting so you can work on it by yourself.”

Perricelli encourages students to continue to practice and says that the club is more than willing to help and give advice to those who wish to be-

“We can also send YouTube videos if you want specific things and if you want advice specifically from people who have done crocheting for a few years,” said Perricelli. “But, you just have to try it, it’s not scary, we don’t bite and we’re here to help you and we will try our best to help you learn it if you want to.”

Jessica DeFeo, a junior marketing and global business major, also emphasizes the importance of practicing and watching tutorials to better your skills.

“Even though we have a dedicated space, I will say the most beneficial way to learn how to crochet and to develop your skills is to do it on your own and figure out everything on your own,” DeFeo said. “And also practice as much as you can. Because I feel like with any skill, it’s always going to be difficult to do it unless you get that practice.”

At events, the crochet club picks patterns for members to do for students of different skill sets. From creating granny squares, pumpkin-shaped coasters or St. Patrick’s Day koozies, there are opportunities for new members to learn, or experienced members to offer a helping hand or to create a bunch of crochet pieces.

Isabel Cameron is a senior psychology major and is a member of the crochet club that emphasizes the aspects of community, welcomeness and shared interests for new members to the club and beginners to crocheting.

“Advice I’d give to beginners wanting to join [crochet] club or wanting to learn how to crochet is literally that you don’t need to know anything,” Cameron said. “The club has a very large emphasis on community and learning. I spent the first couple weeks going to the club just teaching other people how to start, how to do the most basic things like chaining or single crochet and I enjoyed it a lot.”

Cameron says that keeping an open eye out for new ways

to crochet on social media is a great way to better your skills and keep learning interesting.

“I like teaching people about something I am passionate about so I’d say just going with an open mind and a curious mind, you’ll be able to learn, and also Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, they are your friends when you are trying to learn crochet. I am a self-taught crocheter, I learned everything I know online over the pandemic,” said Cameron.

In the upcoming semester, the crochet club is going to continue holding weekly meetings and is going to send a form out to members about their experience and availability to continue being a welcoming, stress-free community on the Manhattan College campus.

“I think it’s definitely important to have a space dedicated specifically for artistic creativity,” DeFeo said. “I feel like when you’re in college, especially when you’re majoring in something or you’re doing something typically that’s not super creative. It’s hard to be able to continue to develop that. These kinds of spaces not only does it promote stress relief, but I think it’s also important just to be creative in general.”

orating with MCTV.” Kirk said.

The duo Bart and Kirk told the Quad how much they loved working with Players and hope next year more collaborations with different organizations on campus happen.

“MCTV has had an amazing

time with Players,” Bart commented in a response to Kirk. “It’s been so fun to produce a show like this. It’s always great to get content out there and I think we really hit the jackpot with working with amazing people, especially Billy who’s brought in some really talented people which has brought a lot to MCTV and players too. We are just so happy to have helped produce this.”

Sign up to work with MCTV by emailing them at mctv@ manhattan.edu and look out for the review of 9 to 5 from the Quadrangle as well. New members for both are always welcomed.

Nicole Fitzsimmons

Senior writer

Members of the crochet club at their spring event crocheting flowers. NICOLEFITZSIMMONS/ COURTESY

ManhattanCollegePlayers areworking9to5toputon ThisYear’sSpringMusical

Angelina Perez Web Editor

The most anticipated spring semester musical, 9 to 5, occurred this past weekend and did not disappoint with the choreography and vocals to show Manhattan College the talent radiating on campus.

The Quadrangle had the privilege of seeing the cast perform during their opening night on Friday the 21st, where the audience could feel the emotions filling up Smith Auditorium.

Olivia Bailey is a freshman sound studies and communication major who obtained the role as one of 9 to 5’s leading ladies, Judy Bernly.

“I knew I wanted Judy as soon as we knew what the show was going to be,” Bailey explained. “I spent the whole entire month practicing and when I got the cast list I screamed. It was kind of embarrassing but also amazing that I would be playing the character I had wanted.”

While the character Judy was not usually the kind of per-

sona Bailey usually played, she was still very excited.

“I usually play female leads who are confident and mean from the start, which Judy is not in the beginning but she eventually does grow into this strong independent woman,” explained Bailey.

Jenna Lenoard, a senior childhood education major, said she was able to take her final bow this weekend by going out with a production she will never forget and playing a role she can keep close to her heart.

“It is amazing to play Doralee alongside Gina and Olivia as Violet and Judy. [Doralee] was the role that Dolly Parton played in the original movie and it is so incredibly fun to be able to connect to her character in so many ways,” Leonard told the Quad.

“She’s this woman who has gone through a lot of struggle, but she always keeps this positive mentality that shows this attitude that makes her want to keep pushing. I think it’s just incredibly fun to play her and do an accent as well.”

Leonard is not the only senior saying goodbye to the stage as John O’Connor, a se-

sure everything goes smoothly and that everyone feels confident because that’s the biggest thing. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a super hard routine, but as long as everyone feels their best, it’s gonna look its best?”

O’Connor walked The Quadrangle through the transition from dancing on the stage to a game day where he performs regularly.

“In the office scenes, we have to really tell a story with our dancing. It could be you’re doing something really hard one second, and then you’re just walking. Whereas during Game Day dances, it’s nonstop two minutes of flipping, smiling and shaking your butt,” explained O’Conner. “But on stage you get to help the story progress, especially like the dream sequence like when the girls are like stone. I went from playing a cowboy to an animal which just shows there’s so much happening at the same time no one ever notices.”

Brina Boyum is a sopho-

nior management major specializing in talent management, is leaving behind a legacy not just with the Manhattan College Dancers, where you can mostly find him but with his Player’s family as well.

“So, in the cast, I play Tinsworthy and an ensemble member while also being the player’s dance captain.” O’Connor explained. “As dance captain, my main responsibility is to sustain the choreographer and help choreograph during the dance rehearsals to ensure everyone’s on the same page.”

O’Connor stresses the importance of feeling comfortable on stage when performing alongside others, especially when stunts and choreography are involved.

“Because Tinsworthy only comes out in the last scene, I am before that a dancing office assistant, tumbling around the stage, spinning and lifting.” O’Connor said. “There is a lot of dancing in 9 to 5 and because of that I have to make

more philosophy and sociology double major who went from backstage to front stage all because of her roommate convincing her to audition on a whim.

“I took on two roles in this production. On stage, I play Kathy who is this secretary at the office and is described as the office gossip and the leader of the secretaries’ posse,” said Boyum. “But normally I do wardrobe, which helped me a lot with being able to quickly change by myself while also helping map out everybody else’s quick changes. I think quick changes are one of the coolest parts of theater because it’s so unexpected. One moment a person’s wearing one outfit, and then you blink for one second and they have another one on.”

As students take their bows on the last few weeks of school, MC’s players encourage them to keep an eye out for an announcement for the fall play.

Luis Chavez plays Franklin Hart in 9 to 5 . @PLAYERSMC/COURTESY

Gina Ricardo plays Violet Newstead in 9 to 5 @PLAYERSMC/COURTESY

Angelina Persaud & Angelina Perez News Editor and Web Editor

Jasper nation was thriving and thoroughly enjoying this year’s Springfest, which included a carnival on the quad and a performance by R&B and rap artist NAV.

The festivities on April 15 began with a carnival on the quad where students were able to come together to enjoy music, food and the joy of community.

The carnival portion included some sweet treats such as cotton candy and funnel cake, and activities for students to participate in. These included bouncy houses, one of which you were able to fight with an opponent, and the very anticipated mechanical bull.

Events such as Springfest hold a special meaning for many students as the college is able to hold large-scale, in-person events again following the pandemic. Kieran McCullogh, a junior, explained the joy she feels in seeing the community come together during these times.

arts & EntErtainmEnt

Springfest Recap

“Doing stuff as a campus for things like this is special. It’s nice to have everyone together doing something.”

Others shared their excitement about being able to participate in the activities of the day and unwind after a week of class.

Noah Schmidt, a senior, shared his favorite part of the events and what he was looking forward to the most that day.

“I’m really looking forward to the [NAV] concert later tonight,” Schmidt said. “I wish there was more food here but I’m pretty excited to ride the mechanical bull later today.”

The main event of the evening was the NAV concert held in Draddy Gymnasium. Hundreds of students gathered and danced to some of his most popular songs.

Rosalia Cefalu, vice president of student life on the student government’s E-board, was tasked with creating a fun, entertaining evening for students. She explained the process of searching for an artist to perform required a lot of research and consideration of student input.

“We’ve explored a ton of different artists and like, we just kept looking and looking,” Cefalu said. “I was like we should send an offer for him just to see and we got a terrific deal on it.”

Cefalu explained that searching for an artist to perform requires communication among many different groups of people. Namely, MC’s agent for contacting these artists and their crews is the director of Student Engagement, Michael Steele.

She noted that Steele and the artist would be in contact to determine price ranges, availability and overall interest in deciding to perform at Springfest.

Cefalu also noted that the NAV meet and greet this year was unique compared to past Springfest activities.

“That’s something that typically the school tries to do for the student government e-board and then this year, we were able to have volunteers,” Cefalu said.

Cefalu’s last event that she’s planning is senior week, which will be a series of activities for graduating seniors to participate in as a way to cele-

brate their last few months at the college.

As for the total turnout at this year’s Springfest, Cefalu told The Quadrangle that about 982 students were in attendance for the concert that evening.

Although her term as VP is coming to an end, Cefalu remains hopeful that the next Student Government e-board

will plan engaging and entertaining activities for students at next year’s Springfest.

“I think that she’s [Gabriela Sandoval] gonna have great ideas,” Cefalu said. “She’s very, very intuitive. She’s been on my social life committee for a year. I’m really happy and excited that she’s gonna be doing it.”

Jasper Jams: You’re On Your Own, Kid (Grad Edition)

Megan LaCreta Senior writer

At some point, we stopped counting the time until graduation in years and semesters, awnd it turned into days. Graduating college is something that I can’t fully comprehend, and might not until I walk across the stage in Draddy on May 19th. When faced with such overwhelming and complex emotions, sometimes the only thing you can do is turn to music to help metabolize it all. For my last Jasper Jams, I’m going to share some of the songs that have described this whole experience for me. It’s been an honor to be able to share what I’ve been listening to with you all for the past few years! I hope you enjoy my final edition.

Bitter Sweet Symphony — The Verve

This is the kind of song that plays when the credits roll, and ours are rolling at MC. There are so many emotions that come with the end of college because it’s also the start of so many other things. Sadness, relief, fear, excitement — a true symphony of feelings, and this song touches all of them.

Long Live — Taylor Swift

Who would I be writing a Jasper Jams without including a Taylor Swift song? “Long Live”

is a celebration of the end — and we should be celebrating! The last four years have been a remarkable experience. Whether we struggled personally, academically or just from the state of the world, we all had to overcome significant roadblocks to reach our destination. And through all of it, we found people who made it fun. As Taylor (we’re on a first-name basis) said, “I had the time of my life-fighting dragons with you.”

Vienna — Billy Joel “Slow down, you’re doing fine.” Those are the words a lot of us need to hear. Leaving college, it can feel like everyone has plans but you, or if you have plans, that you need to dive in immediately. But that’s not true! You deserve to take a moment and breathe. Things will work out, because you will put in the effort to make it happen, and taking a step back and appreciating the hard work you’ve already put in won’t set you back.

Rivers and Roads — The Head and the Heart

I remember the feeling back in high school, experiencing my friends who graduated ahead of me moving away to college for the first time. “Rivers and Roads” seemed to encapsulate everything I felt in that moment, but part of me knew it would hit so much harder once I was the one leaving. And I was right — I sobbed to it in my friends’ driveways as we left home one by one the summer after senior year. This time around, the feelings are all the same and so much worse, and “if you don’t know what to make of this, then we cannot relate.”

Different Kind of World — Maggie Rogers

I had the privilege of seeing Maggie Rogers herself perform this live, and I did indeed leave that show a different kind of girl. Our graduating class went through a lot together. I know we’ve heard countless times about the impact COVID had on people our

age, but it can’t be understated that the world we are graduating in is completely different from the one that existed when we first got here. We’ve all changed with it, in our own unique ways. “Different Kind of World” makes me appreciate how glad I am to have had people by my side that made all of those changes easier.

The Climb — Miley Cyrus

“The Climb” has been my song since “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” but it has become increasingly poignant as graduation creeps closer. I was singing it with my roommates recently, and we were joking that, wow, there really is always another mountain, and you really are always gonna want to make it move. It’s silly, it’s cliche, but it’s true — it really is all about the climb.

I Miss Those Days — Bleachers

I think that maybe because of the pandemic, I’ve spent a lot of my time in college thinking about how much I should

appreciate college — like I should feel happy to be here, but “x” class is kicking my ass or I feel left out of “y” or I wish I did “z.” “I Miss Those Days” is about looking back on a time in your life, years down the road, and appreciating it for all it was. I don’t know if I’m far enough removed yet to feel that way, but I hope someday I will be.

You’re On Your Own Kid — Taylor Swift

You know, this is my last Jasper Jams ever, so I will put two Taylor Swift songs. I have not listened to this song once without crying my eyes out. It captures everything I’ve felt in my time here at Manhattan — trying to escape the mundanity of my hometown, trying to find my place in the new world I landed in, and wondering what I’ll do, where I’ll be and who I am when all of it is over. In spite of it all, Taylor reminds her listeners that we’ve “got no reason to be afraid.” I like to think that she’s right.

Manhattan College Men’s Lacrosse has Opportunity to be the First MAAC Team to Win Back to Back Championships

Coming off of winning the 2022 Championship, Manhattan College’s men’s lacrosse team has the opportunity to achieve what a MAAC men’s lacrosse team has never been able to accomplish: winning back-to-back MAAC titles.

The Jaspers proved that they are ready for this challenge as they recently became the MAAC’s 2023 regular season co-champions. The Jaspers tied with Mount St. Mary’s in first place after conference play.

“We’ve taken every team in the league’s best shot, and have finished first in the regular season, which is a big accomplishment,” head coach John Odierna said. “It’s only the third time that’s happened in the program’s history that we’ve been first. We’re trying to make this the standard, we want to be in this position every year. So I think it says a lot about the work that we’ve all put in to establish our culture and our expectations of what we want to be the standard.”

When speaking to The Quadrangle, the Jaspers made it clear that they are nowhere near finished after being awarded the MAAC’s regular season champions.

“I really think that we’re always never satisfied,” senior Lucas Adams said. “We’re always hungry, we never want to just sit in one place. We want to keep growing and getting better as a program each time. I think on top of winning the conference again, we also want to see where we can build off from there.”

Manhattan ended the regular season with a record of 10-4 with only two conference losses against Marist and Siena. Both Marist and Siena will be play-

ing in the MAAC quarterfinals with the hopes of beating the Jaspers for the second time this season. However, the Jaspers are prepared to not let that happen.

“They don’t give out rings for being the regular season champions,” senior Nik Nickerson said. “It’s an awesome, awesome accomplishment, obviously, but, you know, we really want to run it back and be twotime champions, you know, for the first time and make MAAC history.”

The Jaspers recently were awarded a slew of MAAC yearly awards with the leader and head coach John Odierna being named the conference’s coach of the year. In his first year as Manhattan’s head coach, Odierna is already making an impact on the field as he looks to lead the team to their second MAAC championship in a row.

“I’m extremely lucky in my first year as a head coach to have a group that I’m so comfortable with and have great relationships with,” Odierna said. “I enjoy interacting with everyone on our team every day and I think that’s really important. And we wouldn’t be here without these guys and all the hard work that they’ve put in. So I consider myself very lucky to spend time with them every day.”

The MAAC also announced that Kyle Gucwa, Christian Clifford and Joe Persico made the First Team All-MAAC. Tadhg O’Riordan joined the Second Team All-MAAC and Liam Peabody made the MAAC All-Rookie Team.

The Jaspers proved throughout their regular season the amount of depth and talent that fill this team and earned themselves a bye in the first round of playoffs, but they remain aware of the stellar performances that will be needed

Manhattan College men’s lacrosse team is the MAAC’s regular season co-champion heading into conference playoffs. GOJASPERS/COURTESY

for them to bring home another MAAC trophy.

“We’re striving to be the best Manhattan team ever and that has been something we’ve discussed before and we have the opportunity to do that,” Shanley said. “Keeping ourselves not only focused on one goal at a time but doing the right thing on and off the field, it’s gonna help us get there.”

Due to their first-place

standing, the Jaspers will have home field advantage throughout the MAAC Tournament.

“[Gaelic Park] is unique,” Nickerson said. “It’s a cool place to play. I’m definitely proud of it and it’s gritty. I know that other teams, they probably get, you know, some sweet field or whatever. But I think our field is pretty sweet too. And I think that’s an advantage for sure.”

The Jaspers will be play-

ing against the lowest remaining seed after this weekend’s quarterfinal games between Siena and Sacred Heart as well as Marist versus Quinnipiac. Manhattan’s first playoff game will be on May 4 at Gaelic Park.

Maddie Mulkigan Senior Writer

Manhattan Golf finishes Season strong, takes 7th place at MAACs

Andrew Mannion Asst. Sports Editor

The Jaspers golf team took on the MAAC Conference Championships last weekend, finishing in a tie for seventh place alongside Canisius College.

The Jaspers improved their score drastically from last season’s tournaments, improving from a +75 in 2022 to a +38 in 2023. This success was noted by the team. Senior golfer Jimmy Escoto spoke on the good rounds the team played this year.

“I think when [Coach Prokop] was talking about those specific holes wise I think if we took out those holes I mean, our team probably couldn’t have played better,” Escoto said. “We really executed early on and it was just again those couple holes, couple shots here and there that affected our tournament as a whole but I mean, we took a lot of good things out of it.”

This improvement comes not even a year after Coach Keith Prokop was hired as the team’s new head coach in August 2022. With his first season and MAAC Championship Tournament wrapped up, he expressed his gratitude for how the team welcomed him in his first season.

“You never know what you’re going to walk into when you’re walking into something brand new, but the team really did welcome me with open arms,” Prokop said. “[The players] were extremely coachable. It was honestly a blessing to walk into what I did. Every single player on the team was very responsive to what I was talking about, very responsive

to coaching, and really just had the willpower to get better. This is something I expected at the division one level but I’m at a little loss for words of just how well they actually welcomed me with everything.”

Now with the season wrapped up, and the team taking big steps toward successful results, the team considers their expectations for themselves to be very high. Junior Colby Norton commented on his expectations for the team.

“I would say they’re very high after this year,” Norton

said “We improved so much since last year, but we got a big recruiting class coming in. It looks like we got a lot of good talent coming in next year and then, of course, we got some guys building up confidence for next year after they were on the team this year, so we’re excited about that. This summer especially is big for everybody playing wise, staying competitive, and just keep improving. Get ready for next year.”

Coach Prokop shares similar beliefs. He spoke of his excitement for the combination

of talent already on the team, as well as the incoming talent from this upcoming recruit class.

“I already know what I have with the six guys that are returning, I know what kind of chemistry they have,” Prokop said. “I’m also already excited about those six that I’m bringing in. Obviously, you never know what to expect. Some freshmen you figure out on the fly, you’re trying to figure out their swings and their games and how they’re going to be able to adjust to college … I’m

really excited for our future here. I’d think we’re just with the senior leaders that I have this year, my juniors that are going to become seniors next year. I think we’re in a really good spot as a program for sure.”

The Jaspers will look to build on their success next season. They will have a mix of new recruits and returning players that will help that mission. Only time will tell how the team performs next season, but the future’s looking bright.

Colby Norton shoots +9 at MAACs, including -1 under par on Day 2. GOJASPERS/COURTESY