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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CI, Issue 1
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NEW YORK, JANUARY 21, 2020
MC Achieves Menstrual Equity Breakthrough Jilleen Barrett & Jessica McKenzie Asst. A&E Editor & Asst. Features Editor
Welcome Back, Jaspers! Students return to campus for the first week of the spring semester. BRIAN ASARE/ THE QUADRANGLE
Associate VP for Student Life and Dean of Students Role Filled by Abreu-Hornbostel Christine Nappi Features Editor
After a semester long search, the Associate Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students will be fulfilled by Dr. Esmilda AbreuHornbostel starting Feb. 3. As Associate Vice President for Student Life, AbreuHornbostel will oversee residence life, the counseling center and health services. As Dean of Students, Abreu-Hornbostel will be addressing student concerns and enhancing student life on campus. “We’re really hoping with
all of her strengths that she’ll develop synergies between those units because we want them to be working together, supporting the total student, and I’m convinced she’s got the level of leadership and knowledge of the job to do that,” Dr. Richard Satterlee, Vice President of Student Life and search committee hiring manager said. “She’s responsible for all student conduct other than academic conduct.” Abreu-Hornbostel has worked in higher education for nearly 15 years, recently serving as Pratt Institution’s Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Title IX Coordina-
IN FEATURES: Keep up with 2020 Jaspers Abroad: election coverage See where students travelled with Manhattan over break on p.6 Caucus on p. 4
IN NEWS:
tor. Prior to Pratt, she was the Director of Equity and Inclusion and Director of the Women’s Center at Montclair State University. The process to fill this position began mid-September and continued through the end of last semester. After receiving roughly 100 applications, the search committee narrowed it down to four qualified applicants, ultimately selecting Abreu-Hornbostel. As Satterlee and Lois Harr, Associate Vice President and chair of the search committee claim, an integral part of selecting a __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Menstrual products are now available in fifteen bathrooms on Manhattan College’s campus. Since Oct. 2018, there has been a tremendous effort to improve menstrual equity in the MC community. As spring semester begins, these products have been made available to the student body. Kaylyn Atkins, senior political science and international studies major and the student body president, has advocated for this effort since the beginning of fall semester after she was approached by Caroline Shea and Rose Brennan with the idea. Atkins gathered as many supporters she could, including sociology professor Roksana Badruddoja, Ph.D., Anne Mavor, director of Health Services and Jordan Pascoe, Ph.D., philosophy professor. Together they decided to set up menstrual product stations across campus. “There were only three [stations]. One in Thomas, one in Kelly and one in Leo—North, Center and South campus. We wanted to see if people would actually take [pads and tampons] and it proved a success,” Atkins said. Five freshmen, Megan LaCreta, Carolyn Allen, Anna Woods, Calissa McNeely and Caroline King were assigned to replenishing the stations. Every Monday they found that all of the products had been used. “Having no menstrual support on campus was a public health issue … it was an issue of gender-based discrimination,” Atkins said. The Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center has been involved in these efforts since the beginning, in addition to other gender equity projects. Jo-Ann Mullooly, a graduate assistant who has worked in the LWGRC since Aug. 2018, ex-
IN A&E:
Meet Manhattan College’s pep band on p. 9
plained how the idea has progressed in just over a year. “A few students came in here looking for products. I thought that the best thing to do was to start self-supplying the center with [menstrual products],” Mullooly stated. She was particularly concerned about the commuter population on this campus. Without menstrual products available to them in a convenient and affordable fashion, they would have to go home to obtain them, which meant missing classes and other obligations. After finding the funds to purchase pads and tampons for the center, the LWGRC began stocking the two bathrooms on the third floor of Kelly Commons. The issue was eventually brought into discussion at student government and Senate meetings. “It was a really powerful moment to see all these influential students, faculty, and staff on campus come together for the same purpose,” Mullooly said. Rose Brennan, senior communication and English major, wrote a proposal discussing the issue of period poverty in the Bronx. This included a list of bathrooms on campus that could implement period products. Atkins edited the proposal and presented it to every administrator possible. The actions taken to improve menstrual equity on campus was a combined effort involving the student government, the Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center, the health center, administration, faculty members, Just Peace, Sodexo housekeeping company and more. When the idea was proposed at the November Senate meeting, it received a unanimous vote in its favor. “This can be a model for the future that if you involve more __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN SPORTS:
Women’s basketball comes up short against Marist on p. 12