Issue 99, Spring 2019 - The Quadrangle by Manhattan College Quadrangle

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Volume XCVIX, Issue 1

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NEW YORK, JANUARY 22, 2019

Intersectional Feminism: Focal Point for Women’s Wave 2019 Shannon Gleba & Alexa Schmidt Staff Writer & Features Editor

Welcome Back, Jaspers! Students are welcomed back to campus with a dusting of snow. Spring semester is underway with the first week of classes. BRIAN ASARE / THE QUADRANGLE

Crime Up in Manhattan’s Precinct Joe Liggio

Asst. News Editor

While New York City officials have touted record low crimes within the five boroughs for 2018, the numbers aren’t as cut and dry as they seem. Mayor Bill de Blasio and other high-ranking city officials have taken the past few weeks to laud the fact that end of year New York City Police Department crime stats suggest a safer, improving city. They have drawn special attention to the fact that the total number of murders stayed under 300 for the second year in a row, and that the number of shootings had declined by four percent, from 789 in 2017 to 754 in 2018. “I want to put this in perspective,” said de Blasio in a Jan. 3 press conference. “We had, in 2017, a record-setting year. We had crime down in ways that no one believed possible previously. And in 2018, the NYPD beat the record again.”

While these numbers suggest a positive direction for the city, a deeper look at the recent CompStat statistics, published by the NYPD, reveals that numerous violent crimes have actually increased in some areas of the city, including the Northwest region of the Bronx which Manhattan College calls home. While other boroughs saw a decline in homicides, the Bronx exhibited a noticeable increase, up from 72 in 2017 to 91 in 2018. This included several within the confines of the NYPD’s 50th Precinct, which covers Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill and Spuyten Duyvil. The number of homicides in the 50th Precinct more than doubled between 2017 and 2018, from three to seven respectively. Rape rose from eight to 15 in the same period while robbery, felony assault and vehicle theft also saw small increases since 2017. The majority of these incidents have occured to the south of MC’s campus but have occasionally hit close to home. A shooting near the intersec-

IN FEATURES: L.O.V.E. Winter Letter from our Trips Emphasize New Editor-inChief, Megan Dre- Solidarity on p. 7 her on p. 2

IN OP-ED:

tion of West 232nd Street and Broadway last August resulted in a death and a crime scene established further up the road at West 237th Street, near the college’s South Campus. Some at Manhattan were unfamiliar with the crime trends in the nearby neighborhoods. “I didn’t know that seven people were murdered in our precinct last year,” said Caitlin Hartnett, a junior and mechanical engineering major at Manhattan. The 50th Precinct has been under new management as of late November, when Captain Emilio Melendez replaced Deputy Inspector Terence O’Toole as the commanding officer of the group. Melendez had previously served in the U.S. Air Force and as an officer at three other higher-crime precincts in the Bronx. In spite of the stats, some don’t feel that the increases are much to worry over. __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

In preparation for the 2019 Women’s March, Manhattan College’s Campus Ministry and Social Action, Multicultural Center, and Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center (LWGRC) collaborated to host an Intersectional Feminism workshop on Jan. 18. Held in the Social Action suite, Kathleen Von Euw, Jacqueline Martin and students August Kissel ‘20 and Samantha Monfils ‘19 led the workshop. Initially, Von Euw came up with the idea to organize something that would provide more context to the marches. “We all wanted to organize something so we could go to the march together. We didn’t want to just meet somewhere and go, we wanted to incorporate an educational and interactive kind of aspect so that people are going with a good state of mind, and with information so they can make their own kind of choices. So we’re just here to provide resources to have you guys make your own decisions,” Monfils said. The workshop was attended by approximately 20 students who participated in large and small group conversations about the importance of participating in inclusive feminism in light of recent disputes within the women’s movement. This year, disagreements between the organizers of the Women’s March NYC about inclusivity of all races and religions led to an additional march being planned by Women’s March Alliance on the upper west side of Manhattan to bring attention to the exclusivity felt by many women, with fierce opposition to anti-semitism. In addition, a non-march event was held at Grand Central Station by Rise and Resist with support from Women’s March NYC to raise support for disabled women. Associate Professor of phi-

IN A&E:

Tara Ann Connor Talks Love of Music and her Upcoming EP on p. 5

losophy and co-director of the LWGRC Jordan Pascoe, Ph.D, said, “One of the other things I think is sort of fascinating about this is that there is this split and there has clearly been between the organizers of the two marches a lot of distrust and conflict. But, they seem to be doing really well as using it as a teaching moment to think about what the internal struggles are within feminism and within political movements more broadly.” She continued. “We are trying to learn from that and build on that with some of the work we are doing by giving students some spaces to talk about where they feel included and excluded from feminism and what it means to be part of an inclusive feminist project, since obviously inclusivity is a central Lasallian value.” Pascoe noted that the women’s march has drawn in women that may not have normally thought of themselves as feminists, or even as people who march and protest. “The Women’s March in 2017 was the single largest worldwide day of protest in human history and that means a lot of women showed up to it who normally wouldn’t have, and men too. So, we think that the women’s march, despite the disputes this year about inclusivity is one of the ways that we can bring people into this conversation,” Pascoe said. Lasallian values and intersectional feminism go hand-inhand, and both are centered on inclusivity, solidarity and building community.. But Pascoe also points out that the Lasallian values include solidarity with the most vulnerable and most marginalized groups. “An ongoing critical problem for Lasallians is the question of ‘who is most vulnerable and most marginalized, where should we be aligning ourselves?’ I think that is interestingly the dispute at the heart of __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

IN SPORTS:

Women’s Rowing Reflects on Their Fall Season on p. 11

Opinions & Editorials

the Quadrangle Volume XCVIX, Issue 1 JANUARY 22, 2019

The Editorial Board Megan Dreher Editor-in-Chief

Gabriella DePinho News Editor

Joseph Liggio Maria Thomas Asst. News Editors

Alexa Schmidt Features Editor Managing Editor

Katherine Heneghan Asst. Features Editor

Rose Brennan Arts & Entertainment Editor Managing Editor

Madalyn Johnson Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor

C. Garrett Keidel Sports Editor

Pete Janny Asst. Sports Editor

Lauren Schuster Social Media Editor

Brian Asare Photography Editor

Alyssa Velazquez Production Manager Sophia Sakellariou Samantha Walla Production Editors

Nicole Rodriguez Asst. Production Editor

Michevi Dufflart August Kissel Web Editors

Abby Crowell Distribution Manager

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

THE QUADRANGLE

LET T ER from The Editor

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to campus for the spring semester! If you don’t know me, my name is Megan Dreher, and I am your new Editor- InChief for 2019. I am a junior Philosophy and Communication double major from Prospect, Conn. and I have been writing for the Quadrangle since my freshman year. While most of my time and energy was spent working with the Features section, I have enjoyed writing for all areas of this paper. I am so excited to be taking the reins from Taylor Brethauer, who did an amazing job in this position. I hope to follow in her footsteps, seeing as she set the bar so high! This is such an exciting time; so much is happening on campus, in this great city, and around the world! There’s so much news to cover, people to feature, sports to follow, and entertainment to appreciate. I can only hope that you, as readers, would trust the Quadrangle to be your source for it all! We have a few exciting ideas planned to launch this semester, including branching our stories out into the digital content realm. We want the Quad to be as modern, accessible, and successful as possible! If at any point you have ideas, suggestions, or comments on what you would like to see in this paper, please reach out to us on our social media (links can be seen below) or shoot us an email at thequad@manhattan.edu. OR come to one of our weekly meetings! On Tuesdays at 4pm, you’ll find us doing journalism in Kelly 4.12, and we would love for you to join! I can’t wait for this semester, onward and upward!

Sincerely,

Megan Dreher

Editor-in-Chief

mcquad.org @mcquad @mcquad mcquad

News

JANUARY 22, 2019

Intersectional Feminism: Focal Point for Women’s Wave 2019 __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the split between the women’s marches and that’s a reason why I think it’s really important that we as Lasallians pay attention to this dispute as a learning opportunity to think of what it means to identify the most marginalized and vulnerable,” Pascoe said. Monfils also spoke about the connection between the feminist movement and the Lasallian values, and how it can impact the community at MC. “One of the five points of the [Lasallian] star is on social justice and concern for the poor. And that’s awesome, we definitely want to advocate for the poor. But not just the poor; there are intersections to consider. So that’s one way we can connect it to the Lasallian mission is that social justice should be more encompassing. We need this kind of feminism and thinking to critically analyze the existing structures that are already here, like Christianity and Catholicism, Lasallian faith, etcetera and we want to be able to use these tools to examine them. And break them down and unpack them,” she said. Freshman Priya Varanisi attended the Intersectional Feminism workshop and finds the inclusion of all women in the movement to be very important. “I got into the work after the

inauguration and realizing that my place as a woman in society was being attacked. I hadn’t felt this personally before. But the intersectional women’s movement also came with being a woman of color myself, but also just listening to artists and writers who were trans, people of color, of the LGBT+ community who were calling against the idea of being a trans exclusionary feminist. Or a feminist that does not understand how racial issues can play such a large role in our emotional health, as individuals and as a nation,” Varanasi said. She continued. “I think the workshop went really well. I myself put in a fair amount of work to understand intersectional politics, but I think this was really a great place to start for a lot of people to join in, and just get a basic understanding of what intersectionality is. It’s a big step to first of all, bring that to the conversation, and second, say ‘Hey, let’s make sure our politics are intersectional.’ It’s crucial. And I think it’s just great that it happened in the first place.” After the workshop wrapped up after two hours, many of the attendees stayed in the Social Action Suite to continue discussions and work together on posters for the marches. Pascoe said, “We found last year that it was really nice having collective spaces for poster-making and you can brainstorm and bounce ideas

One of the many signs that were held at the Women’s March on Jan. 19. ALEXA SCHMIDT / THE QUADRANGLE off each other; it’s fun.” All attendees were also invited to travel together and make their own decision on

which of the two marches to attend on Jan. 19, meeting either on campus or in midtown Manhattan. While the marches may be done, the organizers of the workshop at MC do not believe the discussions about making feminism more inclusive should end. Pascoe said, “We have run several intersectional feminist workshops over the course of the fall, this is an ongoing proj-

ect for us and we are very excited to have awesome student leaders who are really taking this and rolling with it, but this question of what it means to be engaged in an intersectional feminist movement is an ongoing conversation that we will continue to build on over the course of the spring.” Editor’s Note: August Kissel is a web editor for The Quadrangle.

Junior Thomas (Tommo) Dugan was one of several MC students who participated in the Women’s March (Left) . Other marchers who showed their support through signage. The march was attended by several notable feminists including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gloria Steinem. ROSE BRENNAN/ THE QUADRANGLE

News

THE QUADRANGLE

Crime Up in Manhattan’s Precinct __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “I don’t think it’s up dramatically enough to be concerned,” said Megan Carmody, a junior whose secondary education

major requires her to visit different schools in the area. “I walk early in the morning to all my field hours and I feel fine … 10 to 30 minute walking distance … I’ve never felt in danger.”

Despite the increases in some crimes, burglary and grand larceny rates have gone down in the area since 2017, yet the start of 2019 has already seen some crimes committed in the nearby community and

close to Manhattan College. This past Tuesday, Jan. 15, an apartment located in the Majestic building at 3660 Waldo Ave was burglarized. According to the NYPD, the male suspect, who has not yet been

apprehended, entered through a fire escape and made off withapproximately $7000 in property.

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A graph depicting the amount of crime that occurs within the 50th precinct compared to city-wide crime. JOE LIGGIO & SAMANTHA WALLA/ THE QUADRANGLE

Join the Quadrangle WE’RE LOOKING FOR WRIT ERS / GRAPHIC DESIGNERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS / VIDEOGRAPHERS Inquire by email at thequad@manhattan.edu

JANUARY 22, 2019

Arts & Entertainment

Tara Connor Talks Love of Music, Upcoming EP and Album Class ROCK THE QUAD Gabriella DePinho News Editor

After hearing Tara Connor perform at a few coffee houses and Quadchella and hearing rumors about original music, I knew I had to find out more. After reaching out to her, Connor, a senior philosophy major and religious studies and music double minor, agreed to let me interview her for this column. Sitting down with her last semester, we talked all things music and everything coming up for spring semester - her final semester - here at Manhattan College. The Quadrangle: How did you first get into music? Tara Connor: Music has always been a thing. My sisters and I grew up surrounded by music. We used to dance in the living room to the Tarzan soundtrack - it’s just been everything - and we’d sing in the car and it was everything. When I got to sixth grade, I used to do talent shows, which were awful but they were fun, and I just kept doing it from then on. TQ: When did you first start writing your own music? TC: High school. For my fifteenth or sixteenth birthday I asked for a ukulele and my parents were like, “That’s weird.” I picked it up right away and I just started playing. A little while after I learned how to play the ukulele, I started writing my own music. TQ: Can you play other instruments besides the ukulele? TC: I don’t know if singing counts as an instrument, but I sing. I used to take piano lessons but I gave up on it because reading music is really hard. I wish I could say that I play the piano or something but it’s really just the ukulele. I took a guitar class here [at Manhattan College] so I do know how to play the guitar, but not as well. I’m most comfortable on the ukulele but I do know a few chords on other stuff. TQ: When did you first start sharing your own music in public spaces? TC: I was in a band in high school, an all-girl band. There was five of us. We used to perform at Starbucks and fairs in our town and anything, anywhere. We just started with covers and then we started writing music. We all did it separately so my friend would write a guitar part and then

we would build off of that. The last time that we performed together - because we’re not still together anymore - our last performance together, we performed two original songs that we wrote, which was cool TQ: What was your band’s name? TC: It was PSA and the whole big thing about it was that no one knew what it stood for. Everyone was like “what does it mean?” and we would just pick random words that started with the letters. I think it actually stood for “Probably Some Acronym” just to be really annoying about it, so that was exciting. TQ: What is your favorite lyric or song you’ve ever written? TC: That’s a good question. I don’t know if I have any lyrics that I, per se, “hang” over because most of the time when I write a song, it’s about an experience so the experience itself is what I linger over, more than the song itself. I don’t know. I don’t think I have any lyrics that particularly come out at me. TQ: Why is music important to you? TC: Music is definitely a way that I de-stress and get over anxiety but also, at the same time, it causes me immense stress to perform. So writing music and playing in the leisure of my own room has been a really good stress relief thing. I feel like even if I’m spending hours and hours writing a line of music, I’m still doing something and I feel like I’ve accomplished something in my day, if I feel like I’m not doing a lot. TQ: When did you start performing more on your own? How’d you get into it? TC: Definitely in college, that was the first time I was doing stuff on my own. It was definitely because of coffeehouse. I would sing with my sister and we would do a bunch of songs together and then as time went by, we would do one song together and then I would do one song by myself. It just branched off of that. My RA my freshman year was in charge of Coffeehouse and he was like, “You have to do it, it’ll be so much fun!” And he was very supportive throughout the whole thing. He was like, “Please do a song” and all of that. It was very popular my freshman year, more so than it is now, so it was like a normal, every other week thing in Jasper [Hall] and that’s just

Connor received her first ukulele when she was fifteen and hasn’t looked back since. GABRIELLA DEPINHO / THE QUADRANGLE when I would do stuff. TQ: So you still go to Coffeehouse? TC: Yes, I still go. I actually played one of my originals there because I was supposed to play one of my originals at Quadchella, but I chickened out because I got so nervous. I had been sick so my voice wasn’t doing well and it just wasn’t the quality that I wanted to be displaying out there for the first time so the first time I played an original was at Coffeehouse. TQ: So moving forward after graduation, you’re not going to have Manhattan College’s Coffeehouse, but are you still going to look for opportunities to share your music? TC: I don’t know. I mean, I’m writing an EP right now and it should be done by January hopefully. I’ve been working on it for quite a while with Andy [Bauer] so I’m hoping that can continue on after college. I don’t think I’ll ever stop writing music or anything like that but maybe I would sing at a coffee shop. I don’t know I haven’t really thought about live performance after college

because it is so accessible here and it’s not something I have to worry about, so I haven’t worried about it yet. TQ: So this EP of yours … are you going to put it online or is it going to be something you share with the people close to you? TC: I’m going to put it out there. I’m hoping to put it on iTunes, Spotify, all of the things and places that you can do listening to music so people can access it. It’s exciting but also terrifying. TQ: Have you ever collaborated musically with anyone on this campus? TC: I’ve never written music with another person. My sister and I always did covers but never wrote anything. In the spring, I’m taking a class with Andy, it’s Album Composition and I’ll be writing an album with other students which is really exciting. I mean I did write songs with my band in high school but very limited amounts and most of it I did on my own and then I’d bring it back to them. This class is really going to test me with that and I’m really excited for it.

TQ: That’s such a cool class. TC: Yeah, Andy has done The Beatles class for the last few years and now they’re not offering independent studies anymore, I think. I, as a music minor, need a 400 level course to graduate so I went and was like “you have to give me a 400 level” because they didn’t have any at the time. Album Composition was what Andy wanted as the independent study in the first place, so they just turned it into a class. So we’re going to write an album and perform it the same way they do with the Beatles class, so that’ll be really exciting. Watch her performance on our YouTube channel by scanning the QR code.

Arts & Entertainment

THE QUADRANGLE

Performing Arts Spring Preview Alexa Schmidt Features Editor

The Manhattan College Performing Arts department has a lot in store for the spring semester. Andy Bauer, the director and coordinator of the department is thrilled to have such a busy semester filled with practices, concerts and performances. In February, Players will debut the first production of the complete abridged works of Shakespeare, as well as the V-Day performances. The VDay performances aim to raise awareness about women and sexual assault survivors. Directed and performed solely by students, the performances will take place in Smith Auditorium and Hayden Hall, respectively. There will be a performing arts-wide formal dance, which will occur mid-February. “That will be a really great night where we can all just get together and socialize,” Bauer said. “Sometimes with the Performing Arts groups you have the Players, and the Jazz Band and Orchestra, and they don’t necessarily talk to each other but we’re really all part of the same community. It really allows us to have some collegiality and camaraderie and fun together.” In March, the One Acts Festival will take place, which serves as a good way for people to write their own pieces and allows the group to get a lot of new directors and actors.

Although everything happens in quick succession, Players manages to handle the stress. Junior Alex Kelly, the production manager for Players, is heavily involved in what goes on behind the scenes. “It’s tough. But I think it’s a lot of the people. We all tend to have meetings regularly. The board and various people from the tech side of it tend to plan ahead and try to organize what’s going on this week, what’s going on next week, what needs to get done. We do a lot of that to make sure we’re on top of ourselves and to make sure things are running smoothly so that its ready to go,” Kelly said. He continued. “I’m always excited to work on the sets because it’s a lot of fun to work with those people, we’re like a big family, and just getting to play with power tools is always fun,” he said. The MC Players will have their main-stage production of “Urinetown” on the weekend of April 13, with two night shows and one matinee. Kelly described the musical as, “A giant satire on the political climate and really goes for making fun of it on the premise that people can’t pee. It’s absolutely ridiculous and a lot of fun.” MC Singers will spend the semester preparing for their Canadian tour in the summer. They will travel to Quebec and Montreal, and perform pieces that include the Schubert Mass in G, and Bauer’s composition of an Ave Verum. This trip is

their “stepping stone” for next year’s multi-city European tour. The Singers and Orchestra will have their spring concert on April 7. The Jazz Band will have a concert the last Tuesday of the semester, and the Pep Band will go to the MAAC tournament in preparation for March Madness. Music Ministry continues to perform every Sunday at the 7 p.m. mass, and will be adding a new mass setting this semester. The all-female acapella group Performing Hearts made their debut last semester. The group is led by junior Naomi Uy, who hopes to continue strong and make their presence known. “I know we might be doing the Women’s Celebration in March. There have been a couple of other things people have been e-mailing me about, but there are certainly more things we’ll be doing as a group outside of the spring concert,” she said. Bauer’s album class also has some special things in store for the semester. “It’s going to be composed, orchestrated, arranged and performed by the class. Our performances will probably be around the last week of the semester. I’m really excited about that class. We’ve already started collecting ideas. And the ideas that people have sent me have really astonished me and I’m hoping for great things,” Bauer said. He continued. “I’m gonna be really busy because I’m involved in almost

The Manhattan College Players put on their One Act Festival last spring semester (Above). Bauer’s album class performing The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album(Below). ROSE BRENNAN/ COURTESY all of those things I just mentioned. I’m very excited for this semester because this class that is graduating I have a particular affinity for. They’re all really really great and one thing that’s really unique about this class is that none of my Performing Arts scholarships have really changed. The group has really maintained itself and those

leaders have really set the tone for the rest of their class. It’ll be bittersweet to see them go. A lot of rebuilding across the groups, because they’ve been really made their presence known. They’re very opinionated and musically strong group of people,” Bauer said.

Meet the New Players Director: James Caldwell Madalyn Johnson Asst. A&E Editor

James Caldwell is the new theater director at Manhattan College. Along with filling in huge shoes as the new director of MC Players, he also plays an active role in the Visual and Performing Arts program, teaching classes such as History of the Broadway Musical, Acting Skills and Techniques and Introduction to Theater. Caldwell shared how he grew up and first went to school in the midwest. “I grew up in Indiana, Northern Indiana, small town. I actually grew up around Amish people. Lots of buggies on the road, I had an Amish nanny,” he said. Caldwell first studied music in Illinois before arriving in New York to continue his education. “I went to two different colleges. I went to Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois,” Caldwell said. “I was a musical theater performance major there and then I finished

my undergrad at C.W. Post on Long Island and I graduated with a BFA in acting training, in the Suzuki method which is this really cool Japanese physical training. I trained with a city company in New York in that method. A lot of people think it’s the violin thing but it’s not, it’s much different and I went to Columbia and got my MFA in playwriting.” In high school, Caldwell performed in many musicals including “Godspell,” “The Secret Garden” and “South Pacific.” In college, he performed in “The Pirates of Penzance” and some Shakespeare plays. “I just love live performance, I love being involved, I love the collaborative aspect of theater,” he said. “Everybody has some small part and they’re building this beautiful thing that is ephemeral that doesn’t last forever and our emotion and our thought, every aspect of ourselves go into this project. The feeling of that was maybe even addictive because I didn’t pursue any other outlets or any other roads and through the minute I starting doing it that this where I want

to spend my life.” Caldwell found out about the position through the previous MC players director Martin Marchitto, by being a part of a national theater program that focuses on college theater in which they attend different schools’ plays and musicals. James met Martin when Manhattan College performed. “I am involved with KCACTF which is the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. It’s about theater education in colleges and we hold regional and national festivals offering all kinds of awards, lots of student involvement,” Caldwell said. “One of the things we do is go to colleges in our region and watch the shows and I actually came here and saw one of the shows and that’s how I meet Marty and became friends with him and when the position opened up he reached out to me.” Caldwell discussed the significance and pros of teaching theater at a college so close to the big apple and what means for students passionate about the art. “The quality of talent that’s

available in terms of who else is going to work on this show professionally like choreographers, designers can’t really be matched anywhere else,” he said. “Plus the experience the students can get from seeing shows on Broadway ups their game. It grows your imagination because you can see such great things, you’re like I can do this too I can be more like this how can I reach this level.” Since joining the Manhattan College community, Caldwell has felt he is teaching students who are eager and truly love the performing arts, given that theater is a minor. “The people in this program are minors but they approach it with the same level of passion as if they were majors. At least that’s how it seems so far,” he said. Just beginning his first semester of teaching at MC, Caldwell wants students to know that performing is something that cannot always be done flawlessly and it requires a lot of interest, time and effort from the students. “Theater, no matter what position you’re working at

James Caldwell will be taken on the director position of the MC Players. JAMES CALDWELL/ COURTESY within this art, it’s never something that can be perfected,” he said. “There are just too many balls you have to juggle and so entering this, a career or being a part of it, you have to kind of acknowledge that every experience you enter, you have to approach it new. There are few things you can stand on, a few fundamental things but you have to be ready to learn and enter every production with lots of curiosity, lots of determination and you have to be willing to give all of yourself.”

Features

JANUARY 22, 2019

Anytime You NEDA Hand: Meet Meg Dreher VOICES FROM THE QUAD Rose Brennan A&E Editor

After serving the Features section of The Quadrangle for two years, junior Megan Dreher has taken the reins as the paper’s Editor-in-Chief for the year 2019. Dreher first became involved with The Quadrangle as one of five recipients of the Quadrangle Scholarship in Manhattan College’s class of 2020. Before, she had also served as the Editor-in-Chief of her high school’s paper as well. Like all Quadrangle scholarship recipients, Dreher sent in a portfolio and was selected as a finalist to be interviewed by the college’s Publication Board during one of the college’s Accepted Student Days. “The interview was laid back, but also very intimidating,” Dreher said. “It just feels like the big leagues, when you’re sitting next to a bunch of educated individuals who do this for a living and really know so much about journalism and the journalistic tradition. And so, it was intimidating, but I just kind of acted like my typical goofball self, but also showed that I knew a little bit of what I was talking about” Similar to many of the scholarship’s recipients, Dreher was initially overwhelmed by the journalistic environment at The Quadrangle. “I didn’t write a single article by myself until the first semester of sophomore year, because I saw all of these people that were on scholarship or just super passionate about journalism and they’re writing these phenomenal articles on really important subjects that they were either just coming up with, or it was just news happening around campus,” Dreher said. And I was just so scared. I was like, ‘What if I can’t keep up?’” Before long, however, Dreher became accustomed to the paper and actually became one of the many passionate students on The Quadrangle that pursued the stories that needed to be told. “Finally, as time went on, I became a bit more comfort-

able in myself as a person, and I think a lot of it had to do with just self-growth outside of the paper. And then I realized, ‘You know what? I can take this on; I can do this,” she said. Eventually, Dreher branched out on her own and began writing stories with solo by-lines. Her favorite beat, or series of articles on a similar subject, is actually her most recent one, which involves covering ongoing issues with the upcoming commencement exercises for the class of 2019. “I feel like … that was the first time when I really felt I was doing something that was helping the Manhattan College community, in the sense that people were reading my article, perhaps, and learning more about something that meant a lot to them, and learning about something that they hadn’t realized because the college hadn’t necessarily been communicating that information in the best way possible,” Dreher said. “So the fact that I was then acting as that mouthpiece to the students was really cool, and it was the first time when I was really like, ‘Wow! This is journalism!’” Even outside of The Quadrangle, Dreher has become present on other parts of the campus. Having grown up in theater, she had a passion for performing arts, and upon arriving to the college, she faced a decision between becoming a member of the MC Dance Team or the MC Players. “I was kind of at this point where I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do. Do I do theater, or do I do dance?” Dreher said. “And of course, tryouts for the play and tryouts for the dance team were on the same day. And, I don’t know, my heart told me, ‘Go to dance,” and so I did. And I haven’t looked back.” Apparently her decision turned out for the best, as Dreher is now one of two captains on the team and is now entering her third season with the Jasper Dancers. However, her passions extend far beyond the reaches of MC. Dreher is becoming increasingly involved with the advocacy work of the National

Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). Her personal connection with NEDA comes through her relationship with her two younger sisters, who both struggle with eating disorders. When her family began seeking support networks for her sisters, Dreher noticed that there were a few shortcomings in the resources available, particularly when it came to how eating disorders affected siblings of the people who had them. “My involvement kind of just came out of being a concerned sibling. And I realized that … there aren’t really that many resources for concerned siblings,” she said. “I found throughout [my sisters’] treatment process that I was alone in the sense of not having adequate support. A lot of their treatment facilities didn’t have sibling support groups. They had parent support groups and family groups, but a lot of the time, the sibling’s opinion and the sibling’s input was just kind of negated, and often not even asked for.” Up until two months ago, Dreher’s work with NEDA included raising awareness in any way that she could. But that changed when she found a survey on NEDA’s website for sibling advocacy. “I was a little bit unique, because it’s not often that you have two siblings that are both suffering from eating disorders,” she said. “So I took the survey and I found the name of the woman who is doing this study … because there isn’t a lot of research on siblings of eating disorder patients. And I reached out to her … she immediately got back to me and said, ‘I want to do a case study on you. So I’m in the process of literally furthering the research of eating disorder patients which is just mind-blowing to me, because this is something I get to be contributing to.” In addition to being a part of a case study on eating disorders, Dreher herself is conducting research on how media can exacerbate them as well. Her senior seminar project for her communication major studies how Instagram in particular

Dreher serves as co-captain of the Jasper Dancers in addition to her role as Editor-in-Chief. MEGAN DREHER / THE QUADRANGLE can contribute to the onset of eating disorders. “Eating disorders are biopsychosocial in nature, which means all three of those things contribute to the onset of an eating disorder. It’s called ‘the perfect storm,’” Dreher said. “So I am studying how Instagram specifically, among all other platforms, contributes not only to the social aspect, but the psychological aspect that triggers an eating disorder.” Beyond her studies as an undergraduate, Dreher ultimately aspires to attend law school, which, to her, is a discipline in which her double major of communication and philosophy can coexist. “Coming into college, I was strictly a communication major and I ended up picking up a philosophy double major the first semester of my sophomore year,” she said. “That’s when I think I really decided I want to take law school a little bit more seriously … I’d love to

be able to, at some point, incorporate both of my degrees into my field of work. So I’d love to do something in entertainment law, where I can use my broadcasting background that I’ve learned through my communication major, but then also advocate for something.” But aside from beginning to study for the LSAT and looking at potential law schools, Dreher has her immediate sights set on The Quadrangle. “I want to make this as fun and inspirational as possible to these journalists that are working for the paper,” she said. “I want this to be a club where you can take these experiences that you’re going through as part of being a journalist for The Quad and then use them in the future.”

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Features

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Winter L.O.V.E. Trips RikkiLynn Shields and Haley Burnside Senior Writers

This past winter break, four groups of students traveled to four different cities to be of service through L.O.V.E. trips. Their efforts took them to three U.S. cities: El Paso, Flint and New Orleans, as well as one international trip to Ecuador. Through their travels, the student participants learned about the local communities while ultimately serving the citizens in a number of ways. Flint The Faith in Flint trip took five students and one faculty advisor to the Michigan city that made national news in 2014 for its alarming lack of clean water. As a result, Flint’s residents experienced health problems. Considering the socioeconomic standing of the city, this has created significant financial problems for the citizens. The students spent a week working alongside local organizations to assist the community in a variety of ways, according to junior Michael Hackett who went on the trip. “We visited various organizations in Flint that provide resources to its community. We visited a center that helped to create a safe environment which provides community members with life skills, education and workplace training

in addition to food and clothes,” said Hackett. In addition to this excursion, the students visited multiple food banks and houses that provide basic necessities like clothing, toiletries and household goods to the members of the community who need them. They rounded out the experience by visiting two public schools in Flint where they interacted with local students and learned about their education system. According to Hackett, the group gained new knowledge and service experiences through L.O.V.E. Flint. “Throughout this trip we were able to interact with the community and hear stories from the members of the Flint community,” said Hackett. “We were able to get a better understanding of what was really happening in Flint from those who were directly affected rather than hearing the stories that are broadcast on the news. We were also able to show the Flint community that there are people outside of their city that are thinking about them and that their voices are heard.” Sophia Misiakiewicz, another student participant, found her purpose in the trip through her educational goals. “I am an environmental science major, and have been following the Water Crisis pretty closely,” said Misiakiewicz. “With a lot of different sources giving different information about what actually led to the lead leaching into the drinking

TOP: Plastic water bottles draw attention to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. MICHAEL HACKETT / COURTESY

BOTTOM: Political representatives of the community with L.O.V.E. participants. MICHAEL HACKETT / COURTESY

ABOVE: Participants reconstruct homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. IRELAND TWIGGS/ COURTESY

RIGHT: The group learned about the community of New Orleans in between volunteering. IRELAND TWIGGS / COURTESY

water, I wanted to find out what was actually going on, and how the community was dealing with the aftermath.” New Orleans The L.O.V.E. NOLA group spent a week in Louisiana learning and serving the community. The trip’s student leader, Ireland Twiggs, cited multiple reasons for her involvement with the project. “I got involved in L.O.V.E. NOLA because I did L.O.V.E. Ecuador last winter break, and it truly changed my outlook on many things as well as helped me develop long-lasting friendships. I wanted to lead a trip to help give that same experience to students,” said Twiggs. The Louisiana city, which is still recovering from the disastrous Hurricane Katrina, had personal significance to Twiggs. “I wanted to lead New Orleans in particular because that is where my family is from and I was there when Hurricane Katrina hit. I wanted to give back to the community that has given me so much.” The group of students had a multiple goals for the trip, but cleaning up the aftermath of the hurricane was the priority. “The overall goal was to reconstruct homes and communities still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina as well as learn about issues involving racism, homelessness and the criminal justice system,” said Twiggs. Senior Elizabeth Woolfley, one of the student participants, explained how this goal played out in the activities and events

of the trip. “As a group, one of our goals was to focus on learning from and being with the community rather than just doing for them. We learned a lot from discussions with speakers, volunteers and residents, as well as from the volunteer work we did on different sites,” said Woolfley. For the senior business major, the mission was even more personal and important. “Personally, one of my goals was to gain a different perspective of New Orleans and learn more about the city. I have family from New Orleans and have visited many times, but this experience showed a different side than I was used to seeing,” said Woolfley. “I knew New Orleans still hasn’t fully recovered from Katrina, but this trip gave me so much more knowledge of other issues, its culture, and its history.” Ecuador The Ecuador L.O.V.E. trip was led by Shannon Raczynski, a junior peace studies and philosophy major. As coordinator, Raczynski took all of the knowledge she gained on previous L.O.V.E. and service trips to make sure the other members of her group had as great of an experience as she has had on prior trips. “I have done a few different service trips in the past five years and it has completely opened my eyes to the world,” Raczynski said. “When I was a sophomore I went on a trip to Honduras, and after that I knew that I wanted to choose a major where I could continue to learn

about different countries and cultures. For all of my trips, I was lucky enough to have leaders that were incredibly passionate about what we were doing and it only sparked my passion more. I wanted to lead a trip not only because I wanted to share my passion with others, but I wanted to learn from people with new perspectives.” Raczynski told The Quadrangle that the organization that Manhattan College partners with in Ecuador emphasizes the idea of being with people rather than doing for. “There is a misconception that on immersion trips that people must do physical labor or donate to the organization or people. From this, L.O.V.E. Ecuador was really about just meeting people who live completely different lives and have different struggles and being present with one another,” she said. On a typical day in Ecuador, the group of students were responsible for small chores, such as purchasing food at the market to eat for the day, as well as visiting locals, organizations already established in the community, schools and shelters. “A typical person where we stayed in Ecuador, lives off of two dollars a day, so we made sure we didn’t spend more than that on our food,” Raczynski said. At the end of each day, the group made dinner together while reflecting on the day in a variety of different ways. While some students talked about it, others wrote about it. “The biggest impact was the sense of community we experi-

Features

JANUARY 22, 2019

s Emphasize Solidarity

LEFT: The group traveled to Duran, Ecuador to immerse themselves in schools and shelters within the community. RIGHT: L.O.V.E. Ecuador members alongside locals to learn about everyday life in Duran. SHANNON RACZYNSKI / COURTESY enced in Ecuador,” Raczynski said. “A lot of the times people go to developing countries and just point out the problems or struggles that people are facing rather than the strengths. The sense of community and welcome we received in Ecuador was incredible. Even walking down the street, every person would say ‘good morning’ or ‘hi’ to every other person they saw. This community that was created allows them to help one another when needed and have a support system,” she said. For Raczynski, L.O.V.E. trips are what brought her to Manhattan College. Being able to lead one this year, to her, drove her to making sure that the students she traveled with felt more like a team. “I am a huge believer that one can not even begin to understand a place or a group of people unless they see it or experience it. I read about different cultures and the world almost every day, but the experiences I have had are what drives my passion and interests in them,” Raczynski said. El Paso Anna Rosario, a junior international studies major, led her second L.O.V.E. trip this year to El Paso, Texas alongside junior Faith LaRock. Both LaRock and Rosario traveled to Montana on a L.O.V.E. trip together, where they decided they wanted to be co-leaders. “We each have different personalities, so we believed that we could bring something different to our group. Personally, I wanted to lead a L.O.V.E. trip because it is super rewarding seeing the members in your group grow in knowledge and maturity as our weekly meetings progressed,” Rosario said. In El Paso, every day was different. Rosario told The Quadrangle that no matter the task or location, the group would wake up every morning by seven and have breakfast

finished by eight. Three of the days they were there, a member of the HOPE Institute gave the group a presentation on Catholic Social Teaching. The first day, the group played with children, taught them how to play frisbee, soccer and other games. Two of the days, the group went to a Diocesan center that had been converted into a shelter for migrants. The students were responsible for helping out around the shelter. “The second time we were there was because 130-ish migrants had been released from ICE custody and 88 of them were going to the Diocesan shelter and they were extremely short staffed. We changed our plans for that Friday completely and went there to do whatever they needed us to do. Amanda, a freshman member of the group, and I were in charge of the female showers; basically all we did was direct them inside and get them whatever they needed,” Rosario said. While in El Paso, the students had the chance to speak to a variety of people, including migrant women and children. “A challenge that I faced on this L.O.V.E. trip was trying to keep my emotions in check when I listened to the migrant women and children tell me their stories of why they chose to leave their homes. That was by far the hardest thing that I had to do on this trip on a daily basis, because on the inside all I wanted to do was yell and cry. But, they didn’t want that from us because they had made it to the U.S and were so optimistic and hopefully for the future even though many of them were unsure about what would lie ahead,” Rosario said. LaRock and Rosario’s group included themselves, two juniors, five freshman and one senior. “I learned many things as a L.O.V.E. leader, one of them be-

ing both a friend and a leader to the group members. I learned that it’s good to not always be in control, even as a leader; that I should just go with the flow and not micromanage everything that happened. When I did that, I found that I was at peace and present on the trip the most,” Rosario said. To Rosario, being able to interact with migrants and hear their stories is what had the biggest impact on her. “Our media portrays the migrants as people who are coming into the states the ‘wrong way’ and their sole purpose is to steal jobs from hard working citizens. This idea couldn’t be farther from the truth. Many migrants who are migrating now come from Central America; Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Most left their countries because of the extreme poverty that they were facing, others because of the amount of violence that was occurring,” she said. She continued. “Each left with the yearning of safety. I wanted to go to El Paso to come to my own conclusion about the current migrant situation. Instead of us closing our doors to the migrants (mostly women and children right now) we need to be opening them and tending to their needs because if there’s one thing I learned on this trip is that there is no ‘right way’ of coming into this country,” Rosario said. From her freshman year, Rosario has grown in many ways– and her L.O.V.E. trips have had a huge impact on her character development. “L.O.V.E. trips have opened many doors for me: starting off as a freshman going to Montana, having no idea what social justice, until now leading my second trip and experiencing my third,” she said. “I’m completely social justice obsessed. L.O.V.E. trips have allowed me to experience the world and

travel with a new set of eyes. I no longer just look on the mask that the world wants me to see but I research what is happening underneath. It has impacted what I want to do after graduation, whether that’s volunteer or work with different non for profits that I have made connections with; I know that social justice is something that I will forever have in my life. I think everyone should experience a LOVE trip because it will most definitely open your eyes,” Rosario said. Whether one is a freshman

or a senior, has knowledge of social justice or not, L.O.V.E. trips have provided a diverse group of Manhattan College students with knowledge of not only the world around them, but also better knowledge of themselves.

For more information about service opportunities, CMSA will be hosting information sessions on January 23 at 12pm in Miguel 218 and on January 24 at 5pm in Miguel 202.

TOP: Participants in front of a mural at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso, Texas. BOTTOM: The El Paso trip dealt with issues regarding immigration, human traficking and cultural dichotomy. ANNA ROSARIO / COURTESY

Features

THE QUADRANGLE

MC Students Take Action: “This Is Why We March” VOICES ON THE QUAD

Isabel Vazquez Freshman | Civil Engineering The Quadrangle: Have you previously participated at the women’s march? Isabel Vazquez: No, I have not. TQ: In your opinion, why is the women’s march so important? IV: The women’s march is so important because it draws attention to issues of inequality that we face as a nation. TQ: What do you hope to gain and accomplish from marching? IV: By marching I hope to become part of a cause that I strongly align with. I hope to contrib-

ute to the success of the march as a whole. TQ: What do you consider to be some major injustices women face today in 2019? IV: Today, women face injustices across the spectrum. Societal expectations, double standards, sexual harassment, the wage gap, and sexism at school, home and the workplace are just a few of the things women have to deal with. Women also have to rewire their brains to decondition what society taught them they should believe in the

first place. TQ: How do you feel about people’s hesitation towards the women’s march? IV: I feel like there’s no reason for it. Many people roll their eyes when they hear the word “feminism,” but why? What is so unpalatable about advocating for complete equality between the sexes? Every woman in America is affected by sexism and are the targets of microaggressions on a daily basis.

Maya Tioronegoehring (Far Right) I am marching today because change will not happen unless someone gets up to do it and I believe that now is our time. Mary Stahl (Middle) I am marching today for all of the women’s rights and for equal everything. Sarah Reese (Far Left) I am here because change does not happen in a vacuum.

Giselle Molina Freshman | Biology The Quadrangle: Have you previously participated at the women’s march? Giselle Molina: I have not previously participated in a march because I never knew when there was one and was totally oblivious to movements and marches around me unless I saw it on social media. I have always been hesitant to go to marches, but in reality they are meant to unify people for a great cause. TQ: In your opinion,

why is the women’s march so important? GM: I think the Women’s March is important because it unites women. It demonstrates our strength and ensures that our voices are heard. TQ: What do you hope to gain and accomplish from marching? GM: I hope to gain more knowledge and awareness of our problems as women. In the past, I have just been ignorant and have not really advocated

for women. Being a woman, I feel I should be more involved and informed about what happens to us and how I can help. Participating in the women’s march is only the beginning and I hope to be empowered to do more. TQ: What do you consider to be some major injustices women face today in 2019? GM: Major injustices I feel women face today are the gender-based wage differences, as well as being looked down upon or viewed as inferior in comparison to men.

Interviews conducted by Nicole Rodriguez & August Kissel

Sports

JANUARY 22, 2019

Women’s Rowing Reflects On Rewarding Fall Season Pete Janny Asst. Editor

In only the program’s third year since inception, the fledgling Manhattan College women’s rowing team are fresh off their most promising fall campaign to date. The fall schedule featured a number of competitive races that tested the physical and mental toughness of the Manhattan rowers. The response from the Manhattan rowers was sensational with their efforts yielding a few memorable highlights in the process. Tasked with managing a roster infused with a good balance of budding underclassmen and seasoned veterans, second year head coach Alex Canale is doing everything he can to foster a winning culture in Riverdale. The team kicked off their season in impressive fashion at the Hadley Chase on the Connecticut River. Manhattan’s team success was highlighted by the first varsity eight boat upending arch rival Fairfield University. Placing 18th out of a strong field of 26 competitors, Manhattan’s time of 17:27 bested both the Fairfield A (17:50) and Fairfield B (17:55) in what marked the program’s first ever victory over Fairfield while racing eights. Senior captain Rebecca Arcomano, a key cog for the first varsity eight boat, helped lead her team to achieving that goal through her adroit anchoring of the bow seat and integral leadership abilities. Arcomano, while awestruck by the colossal strides her team has taken since her arrival on campus, insists that the team always aims high. “I think it is incredible the growth we’ve shown from my first races until now,” said Arcomano. “I think we have exceeded some people’s expectations but our goals are always high.” Arcomano’s contributions haven’t gone unnoticed by Canale. “Becca is our sole senior captain for the year and she’s been a real important part of some of the new things we have worked on this season,” said Canale. “She’s also been a real consistent part of our varsity eights sitting in the bow seat.” Manhattan’s success at the Hadley Chase wasn’t merely limited to the varsity eights showing. The team’s Novice 4+ representatives also made a loud statement by winning their event with a time of 19:55, while beating out Fairfield’s 24:01 in the process. The novice boat featured no shortage of youth with three freshmen recruits and two sophomore walk-ons. The freshmen trio of Emily

The Women’s Rowing team finished their 2018 fall season on a high note, attending six regattas and receiving 39 gold medals over the course of the fall semester. GOJASPERS / COURTESY Hughes, Lauryn Hughes, and Elyse Holmes teamed up with sophomores Kerry Brosnan and Nadine Salameh to take home first place honors in what marked their first win as Manhattan rowers. Canale was admittedly proud of his younger rowers for their impressive achievement. “It was big for our recruits to get that win and for the walkons who showed they were up to speed with our freshmen recruits,” said Canale. By now, the veteran rowers had began to take notice of the skills of the younger rowers. “We have a younger team this year that has definitely stepped up,” said junior Jaclyn Leighton. “Our novices have improved and really put in the work.” One way the veterans fulfill their leadership duties is by imparting words of advice and encouragement on the novice rowers. Arcomano and Leighton are just two of the veterans that embrace this critical responsibility. “If you yourself have a good work ethic then you are showing others how that pays off,” said Arcomano. “I believe my leadership role includes pushing the novices to be the best they can be because sometimes they just need the motivation,” added Leighton. “Just showing a positive attitude myself relates back to them so that they know the confidence needed to excel at the sport.” Leighton has been a mainstay in the second varsity four lineup which has morphed into a serious menace to opposing boats, including Manhattan’s first varsity four boat. Both varsity four boats emphatically showcased their prowess right

from the season’s outset at the Head of Passaic on October 14th where the 1V 4+ and 2V 4+ finished third and fourth, respectively. Canale spoke glowingly about the luxury of having two fearsome boats regularly wreak havoc when racing fours. “Our second varsity four had a great run having earned a couple medals in their categories,” said Canale. “To have a second varsity four that’s fast enough to push our first varsity four is something that’s been a real highlight.” The competitive fury shown while racing fours also characterized the varsity eights season. In addition to the first varsity eights monumental upset over Fairfield at the Hadley Chase, both of the varsity eight boats turned in noteworthy performances at the Head of Passaic and MAAC Championships. The 1V 8+ and 2V 8+ took the Head of the Passaic regatta by storm earning first and third place honors, respectively. Their consistent hard work also paid dividends at the highly-anticipated MAAC Championships in which the eights capped off their season in commanding fashion. With

a 1V 8+ time of 6:05 and a 2V 8+ mark of 6:14, both Manhattan boats collected wins in their respective races in a MAAC Championships showing for the ages. Canale was enthralled by the improbable spectacle. “That was huge. In my time as a spectator and coach I hadn’t seen a performance like that from Manhattan,” said Canale. “It was storybook ending to the full season.” Junior Meredith Domaleski, a regular fixture in the second varsity eights boat, recounted the heartwarming finish to the season which she believes is a testimony to their exponential improvement as a program. “If you told us that we were going to beat Fairfield and all these other teams at the last two races I think we would’ve said no way,” said Domaleski. “It goes to show that over the years we’ve become more motivated to get out on the water.” When the dust finally settled, the program brought back a total of 39 gold medals to Riverdale and in the process solidified themselves as a respectable program. As Canale continues to lay down the foundation for the type of program

he wants to become, the fall results gave him every reason to believe that the program is on the right path. “I definitely think we surpassed our goals for the fall and even started to chip away at our goals for the spring,” said Canale. “I was very proud of the way everyone came back from the summer and the progress we have made thus far.” The players seem intent on carrying over the momentum from the fall season to help fuel a successful spring campaign. “We need to keep this momentum throughout winter training by keeping our eyes set on the MAAC Championships and really looking forward with motivation to push through the toughness of winter training,” said Arcomano. “We hope to build off the success we had in the fall and to continue to show a strong work ethic,” added Domaleski. With winter training almost complete and the spring season on the horizon, the women’s rowing team will attack the new year feeling as confident as ever.

The Women’s Rowing team finished their 2018 fall season on a high note, attending the Head of the Charles Regatta in Massachusetts. GOJASPERS / COURTESY

Sports

THE QUADRANGLE

Women’s Basketball Cruises Past Iona WBB: Manhattan 55, Iona 33 Pete Janny Asst. Editor

It’s no secret that the Manhattan women’s basketball team (3-12, MAAC 1-3) has endured a tough season thus far after compiling a modest 13-18 record last season. With the MAAC season still young and a long-awaited home stand set to begin, Friday night’s match-up with the win starved Iona Gaels (1-16, MAAC 0-6) had the look of a prime opportunity for the Jaspers to turn the page on their early season struggles. It was a remarkable response in the midst of trying times for the Jaspers. Heather Vulin’s team showed up with a chip on their shoulders in what was a 55-33 shellacking administered by the Jaspers. The Manhattan onslaught extended their winning streak vs. Iona to four games and now own a 49-31 advantage in the all-time head-to-head series. It looked as if the Gaels weren’t going to go down without a fight after jumping out to a 10-7 lead before the first media timeout. Things however went all downhill from there for Iona. The Jaspers quickly responded by spearheading a 10-1 run to

finish the first quarter with a 17-11 cushion. Freshman Kania Pollock served as one of the main catalysts in helping Manhattan secure a lead that would never be relinquished. With nine of her 13 points coming in the first quarter, Pollock was Manhattan’s energizer. “I promised my team before the game that I would be more defensively sound,” said Pollock. “Once I focused on that and on making my teammates successful then that’s how I scored the way I did.” “When she plays the way she wants to play it’s really fun to watch her,” added Vulin. The second quarter did little to help either team as the Jaspers outscored the Gaels by a meager count of 8-2. The main highlight came in the final seconds when Manhattan freshman D’Yona Davis penetrated the Iona defense for a pretty finish in the lane. The Jaspers entered the halftime break with a comfortable 25-13 advantage. The narrative from the first twenty minutes of action carried over to the second half in what was an overall dominant night for the Jaspers. Pollock and Davis continued to wreak havoc late in the game as they

combined for 11 points in the closing quarter. Manhattan frustrated the Iona offense all night holding them to a 21.6% clip from the field while also forcing 18 miscues for the visiting team. In a season that has been characterized by nifty defensive play, Vulin lauded her team’s effort on the defensive end. “When we communicate and we rotate and we play with the intensity necessary to be successful I think we are a really good defensive team,” said Vulin. “All of our hard work has really paid off and to hold any team to 33 points is outstanding.” Davis and Pollock led the way in scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Conversely, the rebounding category was headlined by sophomore Courtney Warley’s career night on the boards. Worley pulled down 14 rebounds to help lead her team to a 42-34 advantage on the boards. Vulin’s biggest takeaway from the battle on the boards was the ability of her guards to corral rebounds. “Our bigs have done a really good job rebounding throughout the year but what really stood out is how our guards stepped up,” said Vulin.

Sophomore Courtney Warley pulled down 14 rebounds to aid the Jaspers in their win. GOJASPERS / COURTESY Warley attributed her “I’m really proud of the team’s rebounding prowess team because we’ve had some to a heavy focus on grabbing adversity this year and every boards in practice. time something happens they “A lot of practices have just keep fighting and clawing focused on rebounding and I and trying to get better” said know if we rebound like we did Vulin. tonight we will just keep earn“I was just proud of each ing more possessions,” said and every one of them tonight.” Warley. If Friday night’s demoliDespite the volatile course tion of Iona kickstarts a special the season has taken up to this stretch, she’ll be even more point, Vulin is proud of the way proud. her players work every day to better themselves.

Junior Forward Receives Full Scholarship After Three Semesters as Walk-On JASPERS TALK Rose Brennan A&E. Editor

Pamela Miceus is a junior mechanical engineering major who plays on Manhattan College’s women’s basketball team. Originally from Haverstraw, N.Y., Miceus joined the team as a walk-on during her sophomore year. She was awarded a scholarship to play as a forward for the team over the winter intersession. The Quadrangle: What was [the walk-on] process like? Pamela Miceus: Basically when I came to campus my freshman year, the coach approached me about walking onto the team but I had come the school just to be a regular student. I had always kept the idea in the back of my mind, but I would be focusing on my school [because] mechanical engineering is pretty difficult. In the spring semester, after I realized that I was doing pretty well … I did pretty well my first and second semester, I felt comfortable that I could

handle both basketball and my major. So then I approached the coaches and had a conversation with them in the spring, and they allowed me to start … playing pickup in the spring, and in the fall I started doing regular practices with them. TQ: So until recently, you weren’t on scholarship? PM: No, so starting my sophomore year, I was on the team just as a regular walk-on, also just a regular student, and then for this semester, I will be on scholarship. TQ: How were you informed that you received the scholarship? PM: So we generally do a lot of team activities, sort of like team bonding [and] having fun within all the stress that [is] associated with basketball. So … the coach made up that we were going to play “Deal or No Deal.” We’ve even done spelling bees and a bunch of ridiculous activities, so it was nothing new for us. She’s pretty creative. So if you know how “Deal or No Deal” works, you have good prizes and less-

valuable prizes, and what everybody wanted to win was a … night out to the movies. That’s snacks, that’s hanging out with your teammates, that’s a lot of fun. So that’s what we were all hoping was behind the paper. The game just goes, and even during the game, I was like, I’m fine with anything, honestly, any prize is really good. But in the end, I chose to use the paper that was the mystery box that we picked in the beginning. I chose the mystery box and opened the mystery box and [they] told me to open an envelope, and I’m like, “We’re going through so much just to get a movie,” because that was the only option left. And then after I opened the envelope, it said that I was on full scholarship, so that whole moment was just … complete off-guard, like I realized and my teammates realized all in one moment, and just everybody lost it. You could see it all on the video [posted to the women’s basketball Instagram page], the video was very overwhelming for me. I was pretty moved in the moment.

TQ: So you felt [overwhelmed]? PM: I felt like it wasn’t real, at first. But I just … [I wasn’t] confused, but … it’s kind of like something that I was working hard for like a really long time and it was something that could happen or couldn’t happen. But if I hadn’t gotten the scholarship, none of my attitudes toward this program would have changed. It’s just like getting an award for all the hard work that you’ve done is just like … everything kind of meets at the same time. It was very overwhelming, I would say, as a moment. TQ: What are your hopes for the rest of your season? PM: So right now, we’re 2-12, unfortunately. So my goal for the rest of the season is to really turn it around. Of course, we’ve lost some players due to injuries, and we have a lot of different variables but my goal for the rest of the season is to use what we have, to do what we have to do to get the wins that we need to prove with all the hard work we’ve been do-

Miceus joined the women’s basketball team as a walk-on during her sophomore year. GO JASPERS / COURTESY

ing, post-season, pre-season [and] throughout the season. And all of these games have been close, like not finished, so my goal for the season is to finish the season with wins, with hard work, with doing whatever we need to do, because our goal for the end of the season is always to be playing on Monday for MAAC Championships. Whatever we need to do.