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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CII, Issue 1
FREE
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
The Contract and the Controversy:
Aramark Comes to Campus, Community Reacts Gabriella DePinho Editor-in-Chief
Welcome Back, Masked Jaspers! Students arrive to campus for the first week of the fall semester have been greeted with new signs. BRIAN ASARE/ THE QUADRANGLE
First Positive COVID-19 Test Result on Campus Maria Thomas News Editor
In an email to students, parents and employees sent out on Aug. 21, news was released that there has been one confirmed COVID-19 case on campus thus far. Currently, all on-campus testing is being conducted by an independent company, Enzo Clinical Labs. At the date of the email notification, Enzo Clinical Labs had processed 298 test results, with one positive result. According to the email sent out by the college, “That individual, who has not displayed any symptoms, was notified immediately and is isolating off campus at home.” In addition to the student being removed from campus to quarantine, the email states
IN NEWS:
Manhattan administation forms council for diversity on p. 3
that Manhattan College’s “contact tracing team identified all other close contacts of this individual. They were also notified and are quarantining, per New York City Department of Health and Manhattan College guidelines.” These numbers are not current. The school has made no update to testing results, and these tests were mainly being conducted for students moving back onto campus and some employees. Test results for all students taking in-person classes or living on campus are due on Monday, Aug. 31, the same day that classes for the Fall semester commence. All resident students, as well as commuter students who plan on attending classes in-person, are required to submit test results by Aug. 31. In
IN FEATURES: Jaspers continue bagging summer internships remotely on p. 7
a more comprehensive email sent out on Aug. 20 with the subject line “As we return to campus, let’s make this work”, it says “Employees and commuter students should be tested in the two-week time period prior to their return to campus, and do not have to use the oncampus test site.” Enzo Clinical Labs will remain on campus, offering COVID-19 testing to the Manhattan College community, including employees and commuters, on the following dates: Monday, August 31: 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Thursday, September 3: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Friday, September 4: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. In addition to getting tested, any students returning to campus are expected to fill out the COVID-19 Daily Symptom
As summer months waned on, Manhattan College leadership quietly announced a new 20-year contract with Aramark Higher Education, beginning for the fall 2020 semester, which would manage and centralize the college’s physical plant, dining services and housekeeping services. Affected staff were informed in late June, but thanks to a concerned student, word of the partnership hit social media in early July, prior to the college’s official announcement. However as the news of the partnership spread, so did word of Aramark’s well-documented history, which has been filled with complaints and lawsuits from colleges and prisons across the country. Immediately, social media commotion, a resolution, and anxiety ensued. In the end, the anxiety lingers while Aramark has already set foot on campus. Manhattan College and Aramark’s Partnership In a letter dated June 22, 2020, affected staff of physical plant and housekeeping services were informed the college would begin a partnership with Aramark “on a range of integrated campus services.” In the letter, Brennan O’Donnell, the college’s president, wrote that Aramark would oversee management of dining services, physical plant operations and maintenance, the campus grounds, energy management and custodial/housekeeping services. The Quadrangle was not able to confirm if members of dining services were informed in a similar manner. The announcement of this partnership is not the first time the college has outsourced any of its services. Sodexo has been in charge of most campus housekeeping services since approximately 2005 and dining
IN A&E:
An extended summer playlist on p. 10
services has been managed by Gourmet Dining since 2011. However, this new partnership marks the first time physical plant workers will be managed by external leadership. The following week, in a letter dated June 29, O’Donnell wrote to members of physical plant and housekeeping to inform them that following “significant discussions with members of our senior leadership” the college decided to put the transition of those services on hold. The Quadrangle cannot confirm if staff from dining services received a similar letter. Residential housekeeping and physical plant staff are entirely separate in management but are both part of Local 153 Office and Professional Employees International Union. Dining staff is not a part of this union. A representative from Local 153 OPEIU confirmed with The Quadrangle that since the second letter, the union has entered effects bargaining with the college regarding the college’s decision to subcontract the employees. As students have begun to return to campus, dining services and campus housekeeping formerly under Sodexo have already been put under Aramark’s leadership. A Manhattan College representative confirmed that the residential housekeeping staff is set to transition on September 21. Additionally, the representative confirmed that all but one former Sodexo employee has stayed with the school and that one individual left “due to personal reasons.” How Word Got Out The college notified affected staff with less than two months to the original transition dates, some of which went through. This timeline left some upset with the school. A representative from Lo__________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN SPORTS:
2020 Fall sports impacted by COVID-19 on p. 12