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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CIII, Issue 5
FREE
NEW YORK, MARCH 2, 2021
Manhattan College Student Engagement Announces Virtual Spring Fest Victor Franco & Nicole Fitzsimmons
Staff Writer & News Editor
Peace Week 2021 This year’s Peace Week ended with the dedication of the newly installed Peace Pole on campus. BRIAN ASARE / THE QUADRANGLE
Manhattan College Budget Deficit Decreases to $3.8 Million, Still Higher Than Administrators Anticipated Gabriella DePinho & Kyla Guilfoil Senior Writer & Asst. News Editor
While Manhattan College administrators originally projected a $10 million budget deficit, administrators say that due to measures taken in the fall semester, the college is now only facing a projected $3.8 million budget deficit. This new projection, which is higher than administrators had hoped for, was communicated to community members at a college senate-sponsored open forum hosted on Feb. 22. Vice President for finance and Chief Financial Officer, Matthew McManness, explained during the forum how and where the budget deficit has come down from the original projection of $10 million
IN NEWS:
Senate Meeting Details Plans for Fall Semester on p. 5
and offered a portion of the hour for questions. Though communication has improved, faculty members are still concerned about their involvement in the college’s future planning. At the forum, McManness explained that the initial $10 million deficit largely resulted from decreased revenue in room and board. The college was able to identify $6.4 million in adjustments in salaries and benefits since the beginning of the academic year, helping to bring the projected deficit from $10 million to $3.8 million. These adjustments refer to salary reduction, suspension or retirement contribution reductions, and possible furloughs. Additionally, McManness reported that $3.6 million was identified in general operating cuts, which includes utilities costs cuts, travel conference expenses cuts, general oper-
IN FEATURES: Peace Week at MC on p. 8
ating fund cuts, catering cuts, and cut backs on operating capital spending. McManness added that there was a $400,000 expense budget determined in regards to COVID-related items. These items include PPE across campus, testing sites and physical changes in classrooms such as installed plexiglass. There was also an increase in financial aid needs for both undergraduate and graduate students since the outbreak of the pandemic. Both of these expenses have contributed to the budget deficit. In utilities spending alone, McManness reported an overall savings of $700,000, $300,000 more than was anticipated before the beginning __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Manhattan College’s annual Spring Fest will be held this year after it’s cancellation during the spring of 2020 – the only difference from previous years is that it will be a virtual event. “We are definitely planning to have Spring Fest this year,” John Bennett, executive director of the Office of Student Engagement, said. “The idea is that the concert aspect would probably be virtual, just like we’ve been having virtual events.” Within the COVID-19 guidelines, the college plans to make this year’s event as lively as it can, while being remote. The college, the Office of Student Engagement and the Student Government Association executive board is doing all that it can to make this experience enjoyable for students. “As with everything this year, the pandemic has been a huge deciding factor for many of the events this year. Speaking on behalf of Student Engagement, we will keep our minds open to all possible plans so long as it’s a positive and safe experience for students,” Sharon Jimenez-Ortega, the Office of Student Engagement coordinator, wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. Anthony Bradley, executive vice president of the student government, states that a comedian will even be at the event in April. “There’s going to be somebody to talk to, and there’s going to be a live show. Just because, you know, it’s tradition. We always have a show. But, the main event will be the comedian that we all speak to, kind of like the Cody Ko event,” Bradley said. Choosing the performers for the event was more difficult this year than in the
IN A&E:
Meet the Artist Miguel Luciano on p. 12
past because of the pandemic. The availability of artists has changed due to COVID-19, leading student government to carefully select who will be attending, which will be announced soon. “The artist needs to be secured ahead of time, and that plays a part in deciding on a virtual concert because there is a huge difference in terms of an artist’s availability for a virtual concert versus an in-person one,” Jimenez-Ortega wrote. Spring Fest has become part of Manhattan College tradition. Despite the cancellation last year, the event has held memorable concerts such as the All-American Rejects and T-Pain. Even though Isaac Slade from The Fray still virtually played music for the college, the event was not held like years before. The tradition was a major factor in deciding to hold the event virtually this year. “We felt that it would be weird to not have two Spring Fests in a row, because last year obviously got cancelled. You know, just to kind of keep some kind of normalcy, and keeping the tradition going,” Bradley said. Due to the stressful environment surrounding this semester, the college plans to hold an event that will be stress free and uplifting for students to attend to safely get their mind off of things for a few hours. “Hopefully it’ll be something good and fun to look forward to. That’s always really the point of it, exactly. So, it’s always something that we hope students look forward to, also during a stressful time in the semester, so that they could really enjoy themselves as they have to kind of hunker down with classes as they’re winding down,” Bennett said.
IN SPORTS: Lady Jaspers Surprise on p. 15