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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume XCIX, Issue 13
FREE
NEW YORK, APRIL 30, 2019
Q10 T HE QUAD T EN
2019’S T EN MOST INFLUENT IAL GRADUAT ES
PAGES 10-11
Also In News: 3 Things You Need To Know This Week Gabriella DePinho News Editor
ASCE Chapter Recognized
The 2018 ASCE officers (from left to right: Stephen Zubrycky, Kelly Grogan, Al Daub, Daniel Forero, Rebecca Grech, Anthony Morfea). ASCE/COURTESY
ASCE Recognized Nationally with Honorable Mention Catherine Goodyear Senior Writer
The Manhattan College Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers or ASCE received honorable mention for their 2018 annual report. This is the first time they have been recognized for this award since 2015, which was then based off of the 2014 annual report. An annual report is submitted to the national ASCE organization outlining all events that the student chapter has hosted or participated in. This report is then used to rank each chapter of the organization. Only one third of all ASCE chapters receive honorable mention and over 300 chapters of ASCE hope to get it. The annual report typically includes competitions such as the concrete canoe and steel bridge competition. This report was overlooked by the officers
IN NEWS:
Progress on Higgins Building Construction on p. 4
including Dan Forero, the former president of the MC ASCE chapter and current senior civil engineering major with a concentration in structures. “I first became involved in ASCE as a freshman, hoping to learn more about civil engineering and meet other people within my major. Throughout my time at Manhattan College, I was able to build strong relationships with other students who had also held leadership positions in ASCE, which inspired me to keep up my involvement. Taking on a leadership position in ASCE has been a great responsibility, and it has also been very rewarding. There is no better feeling than pulling off a successful event after weeks or even months of planning,” said Forero. Not only does MC ASCE have competitions but they also host events for engineering students, specifically civil and environmental engineering, to meet potential employers and
IN FEATURES: Meet the Fulbright Scholarship Winners on p. 9
make peer connections within that field. The ASCE Annual Networking Event, successfully brought in 30 professionals in the industry from over ten different companies last year. “I joined ASCE because it is a club on campus that connects people to the rest of the world of engineering. Sitting in classes only gives students one side of what civil engineering really is. ASCE provides us with the opportunity to go on site visits, meet professionals currently in the engineering field, and so much more. This gives us the chance to learn so much more about civil engineering and what the actual job is like, and that can help us decide on what we do with our degree when we graduate. To me, ASCE gives people the chances to expand their knowledge of engineering and to meet many __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
April Senate Meeting The April Senate meeting, held on April 16, went over strategic planning and the budget for the college. The college’s president, Brennan O’Donnell, was in attendance of the meeting. O’Donnell started the meeting out with an update on Manhattan College’s strategic planning. Some things the school has identified as needs moving forward is strengthening the college’s Catholic Lasallian identity throughout campus, improving residence halls and housing options and enhancing the programs within the School of Liberal Arts and integrating pre-professional education. “One of the great things about this college is it has this tremendous range of activity going on, this tremendous wealth of diverse activity but we still continue to be just, just small enough that we have a sense of the whole,” said O’Donnell. After talking about strategic planning, O’Donnell handed the floor over to the college’s CFO, Matthew McManness. McManness discussed the budget for next year, as it is a relevant factor to strategic planning. The college’s financial office received budget requests totaling to 17 million dollars, but McManness noted that “about 15 million of the 17 million are capital items,” including a five million dollar request for HVAC in Draddy Gymnasium. According to McManness, in the current year’s projection, the college’s revenue is flat, which is due to retention rates. The college saw a loss of 145 students from the fall 2018
IN A&E:
semester to spring 2019, which had a $4.4 million effect on the college’s budget. There has been a revenue diversification effort which the college has found successful. The college plans to address operating challenges presented by sifting budget needs through improving enrollment and retention and expense management initiatives. The college is also looking to increase student access and affordability. McManness shared that 93 percent of revenue comes from student sources, 70 percent of that being tuition and fees. The sticker price for a student to attend the college with room and board is a little over $61,000, but the average net price for students to attend is $36,000. “Our real effort is to create fiscal stability… Our effort right now is to increase revenues and decrease expense,” said McManness. Undergraduate enrollment has grown over a five year period; however, retention from freshman to sophomore year has dropped. According to McManness, a number of medium-sized private colleges are all experiencing the same things right now. McManness said the college is trying to “reduce pressure on the undergraduate programs” and to grow the graduate programs. This effort of growing the graduate programming would help relieve pressure from the undergraduate program in regards to revenue. Budget drivers for the 20192020 predict that there may be a 2.5 to three percent tuition increase. The school is looking to keep the tuition discount rate lower 49 percent. __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
IN SPORTS:
DJ Roodz Sits Spring Sports ReDown with WRCM cap on p. 7 on p. 16