Pandora's Box Fall 2018 III Edition

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Pandora’s Box

“Let the truth be told though the heavens may fall”

Serving York College of the City University of New York and the Surrounding Jamaica, Queens Community Fall Edition III: Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

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Ex-Cop Receives Final Sentence During Emotionally Charged Court Hearing

Vanessa Raghubar’s college picture.

By Greis Torres Janice Perry, the mother of the York student killed by a drunk cop in Queens last year, got up to read in front of Judge Gia L. Morris about her daughter, Vanessa Raghubar.

Perry started sobbing and broke down in tears, unable to read a scrapbook she brought, one she received from Vanessa.

Judge Morris offered to read the book, but broke out in tears of her own after reading a few lines.

On Nov. 21, during an emo-

Photo courtesy: Nadira Nandlall

tionally-charged hearing, Neville Smith, the ex-cop who killed Vanessa while drunk driving in April of 2017, offered a terse apology to the family and received his formal sentencing after nearly two years of court delays and postponements.

Vanessa’s family gathered at Queens Supreme Court and some gave powerful victim-impact statements about Vanessa’s life and death, leading almost everyone in the courtroom to cry.

Smith, 33, the ex-patrolman from the 48th precinct in

the Bronx, kept a straight face throughout the hearing despite all the emotion abundant in the courtroom.

“The memory of our last meeting will stay with me forever,” said Perry right before she broke out into tears.

She gave birth to and raised Vanessa in Guyana before Vanessa moved to the United States in 2006 with her father when she was 11-years old. She lived with her aunt, Esther Mongul and her uncle, Patrick Mongul, from then on until the day she died.

Esther said in her powerful statement that she never had biological children, but considered Vanessa as her own daughter because of the strong bond between them.

“You destroyed my faith, my belief, and broke my heart. Everything I did was for my daughter,” said Esther to Smith, who would not look directly at her. “Yes, somewhere along the line she became my daughter, my Vanessa.

Now I go home to an emptiness, a house not a home anymore, that is what it feels like for my husband and I. Standing here in front of you today, I don’t know how you would be able to live with this guilt for the rest of your live, I pity you.”

Vanessa’s sister, Maria Raghubar, who was also a victim in the car crash, also got up and spoke about the aftermath of the crash.

“Even a year later, I was still having surgeries because I

couldn’t use the bathroom and walk properly,” said Maria who attended York’s 2017 commencement exercises with her family on behalf of Vanessa in a wheelchair due to internal injuries and a hip fracture caused by the crash.

Justin Harricharran, Maria’s boyfriend and the third victim of the car crash also spoke in court about the accident, and how deeply and permanently affected his and the family’s lives.

“No amount of time will heal the wounds you have inflicted on all of us,” Harricharran said, as Smith stared off in the distance, not looking at him.

Vanessa’s cousin, Nadira Nandlall, spoke next, addressing Smith directly, trying unsuccessfully to elicit a reaction from him.

“You destroyed her dreams and aspirations,” said Nandlall, pointing her finger directly at Smith, who remained stone-faced. “ I forgive you, but you should ask God to forgive you.”

Anthony M. La Pinta, Smith’s lawyer, faced Vanessa’s family and said how deeply sorry he and his client both were.

“You’ll forever be in our thoughts and our prayers,” said La Pinta to the family.

Smith faced the family too, apologized with an inexpressive face and quickly turned away.

“I didn’t see a response from him,” said Nandlall. “His face was blank. Him turning around and looking at us and saying he is sorry… I thought it wasn’t

enough of an apology for what he did.”

Despite the fact that victim impact statements are supposed to influence the judge’s imposition of sentencing, Smith had a pre-arranged plea deal reducing his top charge from vehicular manslaughter to criminally negligent homicide before he even reported to jail in February of 2018. He was released in June of that year after serving just four months, all of it in a hospital ward on Riker’s Island.

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Morris adjusted his final disposition to the reduced homicide charge and sentenced him to time served plus five years probation. He also had his license revoked for one year, and was ordered to complete 500 hours of community service and assessed a $1,000 fine.

Smith was driving drunk in the Van Wyck Expressway when he rear-ended a Honda driven by Vanessa, with her sister and boyfriend as passengers. The impact of the crash sent Vanessa’s car crashing into a light pole and a tree.

Officers at the scene of the accident said that Smith had bloodshot eyes and signs that he was inebriated. He told officers that he was returning home from a dinner function for an old co-worker,

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Student Government Holds Paper Ballot Elections After An Electronic Glitch

By Angel Adegbesan

The Student Government Association held a second special election from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16 with paper ballots due to a glitch in the software used to vote electronically in the first one.

The special election was held initially with an electronic ballot that allowed students to vote from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct 25.

But, a paper ballot was issued to 97 students who were allegedly disenfranchised due to the glitch.

They were given a week to vote again between the 12th and 16th.

There was an error in the voting system that was discovered by a student and reported to Journalism Professor Thomas Moore, the chair of the Senate Election Committee (SEC) and Dr. Jean Phelps, a member of the Student Elections Review Committee (SERC), according to Vincent Banrey, the vice president of Student Development.

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The error made it impossible for students to vote for less than four candidates but allowed voters to vote for all 10 candidates despite instructions saying that people could only choose up to four people. The error was discovered at approximately 12:30 p.m. and eBallot, the company that renders the service to York was alerted and the error was fixed, Banrey added.

The SEC met and discussed possible solutions that would not require another whole election. It resulted in a recommendation of a paper ballot voting system that would allow the 97 students to vote, to the SERC. The SERC reviewed the recommendation and approved it.

An email was sent out on Nov. 9 to the selected students who voted between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. during the electronic elections to urge them to vote again via paper ballot. The original electronic vote became invalidated and was not counted towards the

election. The candidates were also notified about the glitch in the system. Another reminder email was sent out to the voters on Nov. 12, according to Banrey.

“We try to make it as transparent as possible so that there are no problems,” Banrey said.

On Monday Nov. 19 the SERC met and reviewed the results and certified the paper ballot election.

The four winning candidates were

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Student Development sent a reminder email that said “if you do not cast a paper vote, you will have forfeited your vote for the special election.” Photo credit: Angel Adegbesan.

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also notified of their victories.

For the first time in three years SGA held a competitive and democratic election for it’s senatorial board. The special election had ten candidates running for 4 seats on the board.

The special election took place because the association had failed again to garner enough candidates for it’s senatorial board of 32 last Spring. The previous election

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had 28 candidates running for 32 seats in an undemocratic election.

All of them won the election.

According to the SEC, over ten students picked up the paperwork to get petitions from the student body to become a candidate, but there were only ten students who qualified to become candidates.

Danielle James, the SGA president insists that the association’s doors are always open and welcoming to anyone interested in joining or working with student government.

“We hope that allowing them to work alongside us will spark an interest,” said James, a senior majoring in Business Administration and Human Resources.

“We’re trying to create that opportunity for everyone that wants to be involved.”

Angel Adegbesan is the News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@yorkmail. cuny.edu

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President of The NYS Chapter of NAACP Visits York For A Panel Discussion and enacted an “exact match” policy, allowing people to vote as long as the name on their provided identification matches their registered elections slips. New York is one of 13 states in the country that does not allow early voting.

“Moving a polling station that is in your neighborhood to somewhere miles away is voter suppression,” Dukes said.

“Not allowing people to cast an early vote ballot is voter suppression. New York has one of the lowest voter turnouts in the country, we should be allowed to have early voting.”

On another note, the panel discussed one of the main issues that may cause a high turnout in the elections, which was the rise of women’s representation as a result of the #metoo movement.

The LA Times reported 270 women ran for seats in Congress andgovernorships. Of the 270 who ran, 124 women were elected.

From left to right: President of SGA Danielle James, Dr. George White, retired professor Dr. Ron Daniels, President of NAACP Hazel Dukes and Professor Tom Moore. The panelists seated at tables in the Atrium answering questions from the audience.

Photo credit: Adisa Sobers.

By KeShaun Luckie Hazel Dukes, the President of the New York State Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), visited York College for a panel discussion centered on the democratic republic of the United States on Nov. 1.

Just a few days before the 2018 Midterm elections, York College hosted a special panel to discuss whether the United States as a Republic is in a state of distress.

The panel included Dukes, History Professor Dr. George White, Journalism Professor Thomas Moore and Danielle James, the president of the Student Govern-

ment Association (SGA). It was moderated by Dr. Ron Daniels, a retired professor.

White said that the country is perilously close to another civil war and referenced the country’s first Civil War as evidence for his claims.

“We’re at a place in this country [philosophically] where we can’t agree on who is a human being,” White said. “Leading up to the American Civil War there was a debate whether people of African descent were actual human beings….Much of the struggle from the Confederate states was the rejection of that idea.”

Moore, on the other hand, declared himself an optimist despite the distress that the panel ensued about the Republic.

‘I think the First Amendment is pretty strong,” said Moore.

“There is a struggle, but I think the truth will win.”

On the then-upcoming elections, Dukes commented on the various ways that voter suppression occurs and the impact it has on the elections.

In Georgia, Brian Kemp the former State Secretary and current Republican governor-elect has established laws to restrict voter turnouts. Kemp removed inactive voters from poll sheets

“In order to tell a woman’s story, you need a woman to tell it,” said James, President of SGA. According to CNN, more than 60 percent of women voted in the midterms, compared to the 47 percent of men.

“Elections matter, elections have consequences,” said Daniels as he encouraged young voters to vote in the midterm election.

“Ignorance is not bliss it’s catastrophic.”

KeShaun Luckie is a contributing writer. He can be reached at keshaun.luckie@yorkmail. cuny.edu

Ex-Cop Sentenced CONTINUED FROM Pg. 1 a claim later denied by La Pinta who said Smith had not been drinking that day, the New York Times reported.

Smith refused to take a breathalyzer test or blood tests, according to court records.

Vanessa, Maria and her boyfriend, Harricharran, were rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where Vanessa died of brain injuries at 1 a.m. the next day.

Smith pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter and negligent homicide charges on Jan. 31 and was allowed to resign from the NYPD. Before the sentencing, Smith and his attorney were overheard discussing the optics of how the hearing was scripted to end. He would have to be led out of the courtroom in handcuffs into a holding area, but he was permitted to keep his cellphone, as he was going to be instantly uncuffed and released through a back door.

Earlier during the proceedings, another defendant appeared before Judge Morris and received a five month jail sentence for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a crime which involved no personal injuries.

After the hearing the family huddled outside the courtroom, crying and hugging each other.

“It’s never fair when you take a life,” said Nandlall. “It’s something that our family will have to live with for the rest of our lives and it hurts.”

Greis Torres is the Editor-in-Chief. She can be reached at greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Awards, Politicians And More at York’s First Annual Veterans Luncheon

By Anslem Joseph Three City Council citations were awarded to three people for the work they do for veterans at York’s first ever annual Veterans Luncheon on Nov. 8.

Anthony Andrews, a Higher Education assistant for Student Activities, gave out the awards to Councilwoman Adrienne Adams, Larry Eaton, the director of Veterans Affairs and, Samuel Williams Jr., president of the Veterans Affairs Club.

The luncheon was hosted by the Office of Veterans Affairs at York to celebrate all veterans, especially student veterans. State Senator Leroy Comrie and U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks were also in attendance at the event.

Senator Comrie said that despite the terrible state that the country is in right now, Americans can all have a better future.

Comrie continued his speech by inviting people to his office to talk about veterans issues and ways that people can solve these issues.

“Seeing the world through a veteran’s eyes will make us better

Club President of Veteran Affairs Samuel Williams Jr.

people,” said Comrie. He added that he hopes to work closely with veterans programs and to accomplish his goal of creating a full-service hospital for Veterans.

York College’s Vice-President for Student Development Vincent Banrey stressed the importance of veterans as the real heroes of the country. He said his visit to Omaha Beach in Europe left him with a profound memory seeing the sacrifices veterans had made just for this country. Omaha Beach was one of several locations where Allied forces fought German troops during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944, the turning point for World War II in Europe.

Photo credit: Adisa Sobers.

“It makes me think about the sacrifices of the people who put on the uniform,” said Banrey.

“To put on a uniform and don’t know if they might be dispatched to a war zone area or a dangerous area. Some come back and some don’t. And as a U.S. citizen, we sometimes take that for granted.”

Representative Meeks said that Veteran’s Day is the most important holiday and that it is one taken for granted. He said some veterans are willing to fight for a country that wouldn’t even fight for them. But, these veterans nevertheless still fight to make this country better, regardless of what it is going through.

“We’re not a perfect nation,” said Meeks. “But we are the best nation! Even in the climate, we’re in today, we are the best nation today because of the men and women who fight for our nation.”

Meeks said that he’s going through various interviews with people who want to join the Military Academy and encourages people to join. Military Academies are educational institutions which prepare candidates for service in the officer corps. Some of these academies include United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. Susan Slout, the president of the Veterans for Peace program, mentioned her work as a veteran.

She stressed the need for U.S. citizens to take care of veterans.

Veteran for Peace is a global organization of military veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace.

The organization meets monthly.

Slout said that their current project is to save the veterans program from becoming privatized.

Larry Eaton was introduced

to the sacrifices that veterans face when he joined ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) in college.

“It’s not just getting up and going to work every day like we do daily,” said Eaton. “It means leaving your family, children, jobs, and neighborhoods behind.

They go to places where there’s conflict sometimes. They go to places where they have to build sometimes. The things they go through helps bind them but are also a reflection of what America is. The best parts of us.”

Eaton also said that he is available to help veterans with the transition from being in the military to going to school.

“Not only are our veterans serving and coming home, but they are also getting degrees, getting jobs, making careers, and building families,” said Eaton.

He encourages veterans to stop by 2B04 for resources, computer time, or housing, benefits and job assistance.

Anslem Joseph is a staff writer.

He can be reached at anslem. joseph@yorkmail.cuny.edu

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College Cafeteria Loses “A” Grade Again, Filth Flies Cited

By Greis Torres York College’s cafeteria racked up 37 sanitary violation points and had its “A” grade status reduced to “Grade Pending” after its last inspection on Sept. 25.

Restaurants and food establishments that get 28 or more points after re-inspection will get a C grade, according to New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website.

The cafeteria was hit with three sanitary violations, one critical which found the presence of filth flies or food/refuse/sewage flies in food and non-food areas.

“Aladdin has contracted with exterminator services to eliminate the observed fruit flies, and in consultation with the vendor, has revised its practices to ensure that no new pest issues arise,” said David Patnaude, the executive director of facilities & planning.

“All of these steps have already been implemented.”

“It’s not anything that we are doing as far as food preparation or anything like that,” said Rudy Vilardi, the director of Aladdin.

“It all has to do with equipment malfunction and things that are causing flies throughout the building.”

According to Vilardi, there was an equipment issue with the Pepsi coolers that created condensation at the bottom and other equipment that was causing backup between the drains.

“It’s not actually an equipment malfunction, it’s actually the way the coolers were designed,” said Vilardi who added that he put in several work orders to Buildings

and Ground to get many other equipments fixed.

The other sanitary violations involved findings that the cafeteria is not vermin-proof, the plumbing is not properly installed or maintained, equipment and floors are not properly drained, and the sewage disposal system is in disrepair or not functioning properly. Lack of the required anti-siphonage or backflow prevention was also cited.

Vilardi stressed that the violations were primarily related to structural problems at York, which is essentially the cafeteria’s landlord.

“We only do food, and if you look at it there was no problem in any of our food preparation, or any of our food temperatures or anything like that,” said Vilardi.

An earlier inspection on Sept.

13 cited the cafeteria for storing food above the required 38-degree limit and not providing proper sanitization for utensil ware, but those violations were corrected before inspectors returned on Sept. 25.

According to the Health Department’s website, every restaurant gets two inspections. If the restaurant doesn’t get an A for the first inspection, then it’s ungraded and another inspector will have to go unannounced to the location within a month. In the second inspection is where the restaurant gets a final grade. But officials said York’s cafeteria will get re-inspected a third time in December.

Food establishments that do not perform well will get re-inspected every month until they get 28 points or less otherwise

York’s cafeteria pending grade sign hidden behind granola bars and tea.

Photo credit: Greis Torres

they will be closed down, according to NYC Health.

In the fall of 2016, a raccoon was found inside the cafeteria gates when it was closed. Another sighting of a raccoon occurred during the spring of 2017 when a photo of a raccoon peeping through a hole in the ceiling near Public Safety was posted to the York College app.

The cafeteria got 12 violation points on September of 2017 and an A grade. The critical violations for that inspection included inadequate personal cleanliness, outer garment soiled with possible contaminant, hair restraint not worn in a food preparation area and food contact surface not properly sanitized.

In November of 2016, the cafeteria got its record of 39 points in the initial inspection. The critical violations included hot food items being held below 140º F, cold food items being held above 41º F, evidence of mice present in food and non-food areas, in-

adequate outer garment cleanliness and food contact surface not properly sanitized.

On the re-inspection conducted on December of 2016, the cafeteria was only hit with 10 points with the only critical violation being hot foods not being held at or above 140º F. The latest inspection results show that in 2015 the cafeteria again got 10 violation points, which accounts to an A grade, with the only critical violation being cold food items being held above 41º F. That same year, an Instagram video showed three rodents running around in the dining area near the cafeteria.

The Department of Health didn’t reply to a request seeking comment.

Greis Torres is the Editor-in-Chief. She can be reached at greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Presidential Text Emergency: Proof That Americans Don’t Have Privacy

By Fiifi Frimpong When the test of National Wireless Emergency Alert System, dubbed the “Presidential Alert” occurred in early October, many Americans freaked out about President Donald Trump’s ability to send out a mass text message to everyone. But officials stressed that tweeter-in-chief was not the one pushing the button to send out the alert.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials were responsible for sending out the message that reached phones countrywide that afternoon. This emergency alert is the first of its kind, devised by the federal government and cell phone carriers to warn Americans of a serious event. The system works like the emergency broadcast system, but this alert is supposed to warn people about natural disasters or terrorist incidents and reaches about 75 percent of the population.

Many cell phone users voiced their complaints about the sys-

Screenshot of the presidential text alert.

tem, primarily because they were forced to receive the alert. Those who knew it was coming didn’t have an option to opt out of the alert, which led to some frustration.

Aijalon McLean, a full-time college student from the Bronx, didn’t appreciate the alert. He noted that he would rather not be forced to receive any notifications associated with the president, even if Trump did not personally send the message.

“I would rather not get a message from a president who has enough time to sit on Twitter and go golfing three to four times a month,” McLean said. “I just feel like he won’t use it effectively. I would rather get my information from the television, radio, or social media.”

Privacy was also another concern that arose after phones were alerted. The government having access to people’s devices brought questions about data

Photo credit: Angel Adegbesan.

breaching. The FCC responded to those issues saying no data will ever be collected while conducting the test.

Cell phone users, like Donovan Salmon, 21, a student at Saint John’s University, did not worry so much about the government having access to his devices.

“I think the text message system was a bit weird, but I was pretty sure the government had our numbers anyway,” said Salmon “I think the system would be

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useful if an emergency was happening, but it shouldn’t be used for anything else.”

On their website, FEMA stressed the importance of conducting these tests to warn civilians of a dangerous situation. A federal law enacted in April 2016 requires FEMA to test its public alert warning system at least once every three years.

Janice Cline, Cultural Diversity professor at York College, said she fears that the president having that power could possibly lead to actions that are detrimental.

“What scared me most about that alert is the power in the hands of our current president,” Cline said. “If he can send out some message, which could be a good thing, about a warning of something, he would have the power to send out any kind of message he wants. That is what I find frightening in light of the fact of who our president is.”

Fiifi Frimpong is the Assistant Sports Editor. He can be reached at fiifi.frimpong@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

:) Pandora’s Box wishes all York students good luck on their final projects! (:

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Photojournalism Class Brings Two Experienced Photographers to The Classroom

By Kiana Claudio

John Smock, photojournalism professor at the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

Todd Maisel, a former Daily News photographer.

On Wednesday Nov. 11, York's Journalism Program held a Photojournalism event featuring John Smock from the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and Todd Maisel a former Daily News photographer.

Both experienced photographers gave stories on their backgrounds as well as useful tips to use in photography. Smock helped answer questions that students had in regards to different ways in how to shoot pictures.

He said the best type of camera to use was a mirrorless for the body and the lens was what mattered the most. Also adding, the best way to capture the best photo lies in how comfortable you are as a photographer with your understanding of the camera.

Maisel shared a lot more about his current life as a freelance photographer. After being laid off from the Daily News after 18 years with them he talks about how hard it is making it on your own.

"I am still waiting to get paid for pictures published three months ago but as a freelance photographer that's the risk you take," said Maisel.

Journalism Professor William Hughes also attended the event and helped keep the conversation flowing by asking the photographers different questions about photography skills. Both Smock and Maisel were really interested in helping the students with

the knowledge on how to use an actual camera. They refreshed the students minds with the most important settings of a camera which are aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

The students from the Jour nalism 388- Photo Journalism class listened to the photographers advice, definitions of skills, and personal stories while on the job.

Both photographers explained the risks one takes as a war photographer and just how ready you need to be on the job. They both agreed that the most important part of war photography is always have two exit points and be ready to get there.

Maisel also talked about how important having certain tools such as a police scanner, as well always having your laptop on hand, and even a LED light can help while on the job. Maisel showed and talked about the pros and cons from different editing apps such as Adobe Lightroom, Cyberlink, Apple Photos and even Photoshop.

Smock and Maisel were on the same page with every point discussed. Even with their different background experience and skills both agreed on the present stand of photography. According to them one must not only know how to shoot a still but one should also have knowledge on writing captions, shooting video along with capturing the perfect photo.

Kiana Claudio is a contributing writer. She can be reached at kiana.claudio@yorkmail.cuny.edu

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SGA

Thanksgiving Fest Review

By Sherry Shivprasad York College celebrated Thanksgiving in the Atrium on Nov. 20. The Thanksgiving Fest was organized by Sabrina Schachter, the vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA).

The Thanksgiving food served to York College students and staff was a classic. The menu included turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, cornbread, collard greens, baked macaroni and cheese, and pumpkin pies.

“Each dish is going to serve everyone,” said Schachter. “We don’t want to skim. We want everyone to have a little bit of everything.”

She expected 700 students to be at the event from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 500 students in the evening from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

There were tables set up for students to sit together and student volunteers helped serve the food to the crowd. Everyone who came out to the event was able to taste everything.

The York College music band also played for the Thanksgiving Fest from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Provost Panayiotis Meleties did not want loud music after club hours since students had regular classes.

“It’s one of my favorite events at York because it feels like a family,” said Schachter. “It makes people feel good to help others.”

Sherry Shivprasad is a staff reporter. She can be reached at sherry.shivprasad@yorkmail. cuny.edu

Pandora’s Box Is Looking For: Journalism Professor William Hughes.

1) Online editor 2) Photographers 3) Assistant editor 4) Layout editor 5) Writers 6) Social media editor

Photo Gallery by Adisa Sobers

For more info. pass by 2C13 or contact the Editor-in-Chief: greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

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York College Expert Warns Customers About Black Friday Marketing Tricks

By Angel Adegbesan

The holiday shopping season has officially begun with the end of Thanksgiving, and while sales are up across the board, experts warn that some retailers might be out to rip off customers.

York College Business and Economics Professor Olajide Oladipo said that products might be more expensive on Black Friday than they were three to six months prior. He explained that a $10 product might be increased to $14 on Black Friday and sellers would give a twenty percent discount leading to a decreased price of $11. He said to keep your eyes open for this trick.

“Black Friday is a period of time when companies want to increase their sales and they are very aggressive,” said Oladipo.

“So, sellers say to consumers that it is cheap, it doesn’t mean it is cheap. Sellers know that once you tell the customers that it’s on sale, that’s all.”

York College Sociology Professor Jacob Apkarian also said that the creation of sales and bargains by the retail industry has been demonstrated to create a feeling of desire for the customers because customers feel like they are getting better prices than they would at other times.

“This is likely a reflection of the influence that our capitalist economic system has on our mainstream culture,” Apkarian wrote in an email. “I think this likely varies from culture to culture.”

According to a research by

Photo credit: Tim Parkison for FLICKR.

the website Finder, 78 percent of Americans said they planned to spend big on either Black friday or Cyber Monday in 2018.

This year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimated that holiday retail sales in November and December will be up between 4.3 percent and 4.8 percent over 2017 for a total between $717.45 billion and $720.89 billion. Consumers say they will spend an average of $1,007.24 during the holiday season this year, compared to the $967.13 they said they would spend last year.

Black Friday sales create opportunities for long queues. Predictable opening time for various stores usually signify the end of a long wait for the beginning of the sales. Customers become agitated as opening time approaches in stores after waiting a long time in queues. It can lead to chaos at the store.

Amber Colon who works as a cashier at Sephora in the World Trade Center mall said Black Friday was a terrible day even when it was over. She says the clean-up at the end of the day was particularly terrible.

“If I wasn’t getting time and a half I would have just stayed at home,” said Colon. “It’s a nightmare. It’s like being in the Bronx Zoo but the people are the animals. There are a lot of fights and stealing throughout the day.”

Traditionally, a lot of people shop in stores on Black Friday, but some people also shop online.

One of the reasons customers give is the queue outside to get into the store and the long lines at the register to get out of the store.

Luz Torres, 24, a resident of East New York, Brooklyn said the lines at an Old Navy store she shopped at on Black Friday were very long and the store was dis-

organized. She said she could not find any shopping carts for her items and an employee had to find a bag for her.

“I don’t really like shopping on Black Friday because usually the employees are very stressed and tired,” said Torres who shopped at the Gateway Mall in Brooklyn.

“I don’t want to add in to that.

Also, I don’t like crowds.”

Most people who want a stress and hassle-free holiday shopping decide to do online shopping.

Sociology Professor Apkarian said that online shopping is more about convenience and not to avoid chaos and human interaction.

“The main reason I think more people are shopping online is convenience,” said Apkarian.

“Holiday shopping, the buying of gifts for others as a means of expressing our love for them, has become a chore for many people.

Those people want to accomplish this chore by spending as little time and energy as possible.”

Stores make higher profits from online shopping than instore shopping. A lot of stores require a certain amount of money spent online to qualify for free shipping. If you do not buy enough products, the customer may pay a lot of money for shipping.

“I am more in favor of Cyber Monday one hundred percent,” said Torres. “The only reason I went to Old Navy’s and Bath & Body Works is because their online service sucks. Plus, you have to pay a lot for free shipping so, in a way, even online shopping

could be a hassle.”

Economics Professor Oladipo said that retailers expand their means of service outside the store to increase income. This expansion is to reduce their fixed costs and variable costs. He explained that fixed cost is the rent or lease of the store and the upkeep of the store. The variable cost depends on with daily affairs and deals with destruction of products.

“For the companies to make more money, they have to reduce their costs,” said Oladipo. “They can give the customer more discounts and can sell more online to get money. If you sell more online, you get zero fixed costs and zero variable costs and it is cheaper for the company.”

Online and in-store retailers offer sales to customers days or even weeks before Thanksgiving according to a New York Times article. Sometimes, the best bargains of the seasons come later in the holiday seasons after Thanksgiving.

“I like shopping close to the holidays around Black Friday or Cyber Monday,” said Torres. “So, I guess towards the end of the year and close to the holidays because the sales are better.”

The term “Cyber Monday” was created by marketing companies such as the National Retail Federation to persuade people to shop online after the holiday.

Black Friday became popular in the 1980’s but Cyber Monday was created in the 2000’s.

Amgel Adegbesan is the News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@yorkmail. cuny.edu

CUNY Received More Than a Public Safety Arrests Women’s Restroom Suspect Hundred Title IX Complaints

By Angel Adegbesan

Details about sexual misconduct complaints on college campuses statewide are being publicized for the first time since the state enacted the “Enough is Enough” law more than three years ago in July 2015.

In mid-October the New York Post published an article citing 1,762 complaints made at 223 schools statewide in the first five months of this year, with 101 arising from 20 CUNY campuses.

York College acknowledged three complaints and the only expulsion as a sanction from a CUNY school during that time period. One took place on campus and the others off campus.

The Post article cited statistics that were released by the state’s Education Department in August.

NYU had the highest number of complaints in the city, followed by Columbia with 43.

There were ten complaints made at John Jay College, where four professors remain suspended and under investigation over numerous allegations of misconduct.

The state report includes information on whether incidents were reported to the authorities, if students requested “no contact” orders against alleged perpetrators and the outcomes of any school investigations.

The “Enough is Enough” law requires all colleges and universities to report the number of sexual assault, stalking, domestic or dating violence complaints made to their Title IX offices.

Title IX is part of sweeping federal legislation dealing with sex discrimination on college campuses.

Recently Education Secretary Betsy DeVos proposed narrowing the obligations of schools when it comes to their obligations when it comes to responding to sexual misconduct. The 60-day public comment period for those proposals ends in January 2019.

New York State law requires colleges to take numerous steps to protect students against sexual violence, including providing them with training on how to prevent it.

Alicia Franqui, York’s Title IX coordinator whose office handles sexual harassment complaints, said that although the law was put in place in 2015, instruments were not put in place to compute and aggregate data until 2018.

In January 2018 an audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli chastised the education department for failing to meet reporting deadlines laid out in the 2015 law.

Angel Adegbesan is the News Editor. She can be reached at angel. adegbesan@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Public Safety Department logo. Image courtesy: Public Safety Department.

By Angel Adegbesan & Greis Torres

York College Public Safety Officers apprehended and arrested a suspect on campus on Nov. 8, according to a school-wide email sent out on Nov. 9.

The arrest was regarding an unidentified male individual who was observed in the women’s restroom located in the 1F corridor.

This individual allegedly took photos of a woman who was in an adjacent stall with his cell phone.

The male individual was ob-

served in the female restroom on Oct. 29, at 1:55 p.m., and was reported by a York College staff member, officials said in a schoolwide email on Oct. 31.

For the previous three years Public Safety has sent emails alerting York College of incidents taking place on-campus and off-campus. In the majority of these emails, the suspects are described the same way: as either African-American or African, between 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall, and always wearing a cap, a hoodie and a backpack.

Between 2017 and 2018, Public Safety sent five emails notifying the campus community of incidents reported by females and one male where a man, who fit the same description as the suspect arrested on Nov. 8., was caught peeping in stalls being used in women’s bathrooms, and in one report, the man asked for sexual favors to a male student in a bathroom in the fourth floor of the Academic Core building.

The “timely warning” email sent on Nov. 9 states that a thorough investigation which included interviewing two witnesses

and reviewing surveillance footage was conducted before the apprehension of the suspect.

Public Safety and the office of Legal Affairs declined to say whether the suspect was a student or college employee, stating that the matter is still being investigated.

“The Office of Public Safety would like to take this opportunity to thank the College community for its patience and cooperation with the investigation and encourages everyone to continue reporting anything you deem suspicious,” stated the Nov. 9 email.

The Public Safety Office can be contacted at (718)-262-2222 or in person at the Public Safety Office located in room 1M02 of the Academic Core building. Public Safety escorts are available upon requests.

Greis Torres is the Editor-in-Chief. She can be reached at greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Angel Adegbesan is the News Editor. She can be reached at angel.adegbesan@yorkmail. cuny.edu

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York College Music Sessions and Workshops

The Jazz Workshop is open to musicians attending York College as well as musicians from the community. Photo Credit: Danielle Cruz

By Danielle Cruz Wanting to encourage students’ passion for music the York College Music Department is currently hosting two weekly music workshops/sessions.

Open to all interested students regardless of their musical background or knowledge the two music programs, both held in room LL01 in the Academic Core Building, are: The York College Jam Session, held every Tuesday from 12 p.m. -2 p.m. and the The York College Jazz Workshop which is held on Tuesdays from 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Held by Music Professor Thomas Zlabinger the Jam Session allows for students to meet up and, with no predetermined track, simply come up with music

on the spot.

“The session is open to all kinds of music making. And original music making (grooves, songs, beats, rhymes, whatever) is strongly encouraged,” said Zlabinger. “The session is a reflection of who is in the room that day. And the only limitation is that those present work together as a group to make some musical magic happen.”

According to Zlabinger the jam session is meant to give students a space to not only engage in music making but also it showcases the different cultures and musical taste on campus.

“The main reasons for the session is to build community around music making and to feature our many talents on campus,” said Zlabinger. “We have such wide range of cultures

within our campus community, that the hope is to create a space where inclusive musical dialogue can occur.”

The jam session is also meant to help students learn how to make music in a group setting and learn how to be leaders and followers. The session also teaches students how to respond to music and keep the music flowing.

“I hope students walk away with a better understanding of how to make music together, how to be leaders and followers, how to listen to the musical moment and respond to it, and how to keep the vibe flowing,” said Zlabinger The Jazz workshop is held

by Music Professor Mark Adams and allows for interested students to learn how to play Jazz songs in

a community setting.

“I decided to hold the Jazz Workshop, to give students of all musical levels an opportunity to learn and/or be exposed to Jazz in an informal environment,” said Adams According to Adams he decided to hold the workshop after all the Jazz clubs in Queens closed. He hopes that by holding this weekly workshop he will allow students and people from the community a close outlet and space to practice and learn Jazz.

“I decided to open the Jazz Workshop to students as well as people in the community and beyond because most of the Jazz Clubs in Queens has closed, and the most recent jazz club to close was the club ‘Manhattan Proper’,” said Adams. “This was the last remaining Jazz Club in Queens, that many York College students used to attend and play and work out their musical concepts. Therefore I started The York College Jazz Workshop in hopes to fill that void for students as well as people in the community that play jazz and wanting an outlet to do so.”

Those who attend the workshop will learn not only how to play classic Jazz songs but also

meet people with the same interest and learn repertoire and improvisation skills.

I want anyone who attends this Workshop to learn repertoire and learn how to improvise or improve their improvisational skills,” said Adams. “It is a friendly environment and it is a great networking environment for folks who share the same interest to meet each other.”

Both the Jam Session and the Jazz workshop are geared towards making students feel more comfortable with music and regardless of whether you can play an instrument or simply want to listen all students are encouraged to attend.

“You will not find a more supportive or inclusive jam session,” said Zlabinger. “Any musician of any kind will have something to offer and can participate.

And there is always an air of positivity and encouragement in the room.”

Danielle Cruz is the Arts & Entertainment Editor. She can be reached at danielle.cruz @ yorkmail.cuny.edu

Student musicians during the first ever Jam Session in 2017 . Photo Credit: Danielle Cruz

Art Exhibit Showcases Work From CUNY Students and Alumni

Art Defined ∞ Disabilities Redefined showcased artwork from both CUNY students and alumni.

By Sherry Shivprasad York College Host CUNY Artist’s With Disabilities Art Works In The Art Gallery Sherry Shivprasad Art Defined ∞ Disabilities Redefined was a new art exhibit showcased in the York College Art Gallery from Oct. 25 to Nov. 30. This collection of art is from various CUNY students and alumni artist who have disabilities and are dedicated to producing artworks to not only contribute to the art world and make a living but also have their voices and concerns heard through art.

Curated by Truett Vaigneur, a CUNY Linking Employment, Academics and Disability Services (LEAD) specialist, the artworks that are on display in the art gallery are visual representations of what the artists felt emotionally and offer unique experiences to each viewer.

“There is a lot of joy and there is a lot of pain from what is on the wall. We see things as bright, lifted, and then there is a dark underbelly there,” said Margaret Vendryes, the director and head of the Fine Arts Department. “There is quite a bit of things for me that expresses fear, anxiety, and in a very very pow-

Photo Credit: Sherry Shivprasad

erful way it is not a easy thing to do visually to create a sense of feeling in that object hanging on the wall and I think every artist pull that off.”

Rafaelina Tineo, one of the featured artist and a student at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, uses her art as a way to overcome communication barriers.

According to her bibliography, “She uses her visual art to reach a broader audience and overcome the limits of communication in a world populated by many cultures speaking many languages.”

The artwork displayed in the

Check out more pictures from the art gallery on Page 6.

gallery are very unique in terms of materials, colors, and themes used to express themselves and their creativity.

“A number of the artist who were in this show where very bold, very innovative, and willing to push to the lim- its of their mediums,” said Ve n d ryes. “The blending of colors in some of them were very daring.”

Tineo, for example, made three dimensional forms of three angel figures using different but bright and dazzling backgrounds. One background was very glittery, another background was made from all features that certainly appeared to

Photo Credit: Adisa Sobers

be the angel’s fluffy wings, while another background was made from colored tissue paper decorated with lace embroidery.

Art helps people visually as some people learn best by seeing or experiencing something that is happening in front of them at that moment. As a result, it encourages communication, understanding of other people’s emotions, it draws attention, and a variety of feelings.

Sherry Shivprasad is a contributing writer. She can be reached at sherry.shivprasad@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

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Performing Arts Center Presents: Milk Like Sugar

By Anslem Joseph On Tuesday, Oct. 30, the York College Performing Arts Theater Department presented the play Milk Like Sugar by Kristen Greenidge.

York College graduate, Adrianna Riolo, directed the play. The cast, made up of students, starred Rilwan Alaka as Antwione, Gandhy Beauvil as Malik, Amanda Gardner as Myrna, Ky’Quana McAllister as Annie, Khadijah Myers-Nell as Talisha, Kassandra Rodriguez as Margie, and Rayna Sealy as Keera.

Riolo, describes the play as “three highschool girls who make a pact to get pregnant together, certain that motherhood will fill the different voids in each of their young lives. Especially in today’s climate (and let’s face it since the beginning of time), women have been silenced, taken for granted and misunderstood.”

Riolo wanted the play to stress that women have the right to

make their own beliefs and choices to where they want to get to in life. It also addresses themes and issues on things like race, gender, and class.

Milk Like Sugar’s powerful storytelling, acting, setting, lighting, and music made it very realistic, and emotional. The twists and messages throughout the play made the theme much more powerful as it relates to current controversies.

The backstage and production crew did a splendid job when making the audience feel as though they are a part of the story themselves. The cast acting was precise and compelling when delivering their lines whether it was a funny or emotional scene. Overall, this play is a must see men and women of this day in age.

Anslem Joseph is a staff writer.

He can be reached at anslem. joseph@yorkmail.cuny.edu

The cast of “Milk Like Sugar” on closing night.

Photo Credit: Anslem Joseph

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Netflix Review: Latin History for Morons

Originally a Broadway play Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo dropped was released onto Netflix.

Photo Credit: MiamiFilmFestiva

By Marc Torres This month, Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo dropped on Netflix. It’s an electrifying oneman show performed on broadway that discusses Latin history, which isn’t shown in most textbooks.

John Leguizamo starts off the show by explaining that his son who is often getting bullied, needs help with figuring out who his heroes are for a school project, and how to solve his bully problem. John scans his son’s textbooks for the answer, but he fails in finding a hero he deems suitable for his son to discuss. Afterwards, he confronts his son’s bully’s father, who is a racist and a bigot.

The bully’s father passive aggressively belittles John, and John with no comeback leaves the confrontation to figure everything out on his own.

We get to see John’s research come alive as he performs many quick character sketches as different Latin figures in history. He throws out facts and statistics, which are shocking and hard to swallow, but sprinkles in bits of comedy to help us chug it all down.

He goes on to state the obvious, that there’s a lack of representation of people of color in history textbooks;

the very same ones he grew up reading. He takes jabs at the New York City school system, for not teaching him about the history he felt he was supposed to learn. He says he feels like a “second class citizen.”

Leguizamo never holds back and likens much of the Latin history he never learned about to today’s political climate. He says things like “our inheritance, our gold, was stolen,” and that “Columbus was the Donald Trump of the New World.”

There’s anger in his voice, and anger in the ideas that the textbooks he read growing up were whitewashed, and that systematic racism is real.

He calls the genocide of indigenous peoples “The Caribbean Holocaust,” and he’s not too far off with all the evidence he gives.

The show plays out much like a crash course for Latin history.

It’s almost as if you’re in an actual classroom (especially with the set designed as one), and that Mr. Leguizamo is the professor. He schools audiences on the truth about the American Revolution, Civil War, and other historic events that Latin people took part in. He says that Latin people are more American than anyone can ever be, as they’ve fought in every single war America

has ever had. He even says that Latin people financed most of the American Revolution. He pulls facts from textbooks written by diverse historians, and delivers these facts in his own unique way.

The runtime of the show is fairly short, and you can tell that there are just so many facts and stories to tell about important Latin figures in history, that there isn’t enough time for it all. However, in the short amount of time John Leguizamo does have, he utilizes perfectly because he gets the audience to really think. He leaves everyone with homework, which is for them to research all of these things on their own.

Latin History for Morons is a show you don’t want to miss if you like being informed on the issues of representation and race relations within America. It’s not only informative, but it leaves us with questions to ask ourselves. It asks us amongst other things, has America really ever changed since its birth, or are we reliving some of its history with each day that passes?

Marc Torres is the Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor.

He can be reached at marc. torres @yorkmail.cuny.edu

Original Cast Members Star in 11th Halloween Installment

Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode in the eleventh installment of the Halloween franchise.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

By Marc Torres Last month, Halloween was released. The American slasher film was directed by David Gordon Green, and written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride.

It’s forty years after the massacre in the town of Haddonfield, Illinois has happened and once again, Halloween is coming. We first follow two true crime pod-

casters who have become almost obsessed with Michael Myers, and the idea that he is “pure evil.”

They take a trip to a psychiatric hospital where he’s being held to interview him, but end up trying to antagonize him more than anything. Shortly after, they take another trip, but this time it’s to Laurie Strode’s house, where they offer her three-thousand dollars for an interview, which she doesn’t turn down. It turns out

she has a serious case of PTSD, and has worked on booby trapping her home for forty years.

She’s also become very familiar with guns, and has become somewhat of a sharpshooter. Soon, the mental facility transports Michael Myers, but ends up losing him during the transportation process and once again, all hell breaks loose in the town of Haddonfield on Halloween. This time however, Laurie Strode is ready

and is hunting down Michael Myers, instead of the other way around.

It is the eleventh installment in the Halloween franchise, and while the film is a direct sequel the 1978 version, it isn’t directly linked to the original story. Basically, the ending of the first film was retconned, and the rest of the sequels were ignored. It’s not exactly a reboot, but rather a reimagining of the films.

Even with being the eleventh installment, and another reimagining or retelling of almost the same story, this film manages to stay fresh and even stands out among the rest of them. It isn’t as good as the first film, but is the second best in the entire franchise.

Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode, and so does Nick Castle as Michael Myers, with James Jude Courtney doing the stunts for him. The acting in the film is nearly perfect, and all of it feels very real.

The story is fresh because it’s about a woman who’s lived in fear for forty years, finally taking back her power. She’s been waiting to not be a victim anymore, and to put an end to all of her trauma. She does this by hunting down the man who caused all of her trauma, in order to kill him. It

all ties in with the Me Too movement, according to the filmmakers.

It’s also beautifully shot, much like the old film and serves as kind of an update as to how the old film would look if it was done in 2018. It’s not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, but it is visually enjoyable to watch.

So many people die in this film that you’ll probably lose count if you’re not writing it down. There are so many kills that even for a slasher film, it’s a bit much. However, the kills are entertaining and at the same time, scary to watch. The film plays a lot on that line of being scary and too real, while staying in that dumb slasher film space.

The movie is definitely worth watching as it encapsulates what the Halloween Franchise is supposed to be. It pays homage to the original film, while being something special on its own. It’s fresh, entertaining, funny, scary, and sad all at the same time. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, and relieves tension at the perfect times.

Marc Torres is the Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor.

He can be reached at marc. torres @yorkmail.cuny.edu

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Pandora’s Box Exclusive Photo Gallery: Art Defined ∞ Disabilities Redefined

Photo gallery by Adisa Sobers

Story On Page 8

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York College Celebrates School Spirit

Photo gallery by Adisa Sobers

Story On Page 16

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Movie Review: The Hate U Give

Amandla Stenberg stars in The Hate U Give.

By Autumn Matthews When I saw the first trailer for The Hate U Give I knew that I had to go see this movie the day it came out. While watching it I ended up crying in some parts and laughing during other parts but mostly I loved the message that the movie gave about standing up for what you believe in.

I must admit, however, that I cried a lot more than I laughed especially when the protagonist, Starr, witnessed her childhood best friend, Khalil, die right in front of her after being shot by a white police officer. This specific

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore

scene made me put myself into Starr’s shoes as I also have a guy best friend and I cannot imagine losing him the way Starr lost Khalil. No one would ever want to experience what Starr went through in this movie.

Throughout the movie Starr reminded me so much of myself.

She lived in two different worlds as the Starr from Garden Heights and the Starr from Williamson, an all-white high school. It is like she has to be two different people, at home she has to try to fit in but at school she does not have to fit in because the kids already see her as cool since she is the only black kid at her school.

In the beginning of the movie Starr struggled with being a part of two different world but this one tragedy of losing her best friend changes her. She learns to be the best Starr she can be and learns to stand up for what she believes in, which means standing up for Khalil and following the morals that her father taught her and her two other siblings during their upbringing in the Garden Heights neighborhood.

This movie was absolutely amazing because it helped me learn a lot about how tragedy can really change a person and their perspectives. The The Hate U Give taught me to not allow anyone to tell me what I can and cannot do and to always stand up for what you believe in even if others think that it is a “bad” idea or you know a lot of people will not agree with you.

Overall The Hate U Give is the kind of movie you would want to watch more than one time and a film that I encourage everyone to go see.

Autumnn Matthews is a contributing writer. She can be reached at autumnn.matthews@yorkmail.cuny.edu

Jon Hamm and Chris Hemsworth shine in Bad Times at the El Royale

Photo Credit: Dominick D

By Richard Heaton Move over every other horror and suspense movie of 2018, there’s a new thriller in town.

Bad Times at the El Royale takes everything you thought you knew about the genre and flips the script.

The film was released on Oct. 12 and quickly became a cult favorite, despite a 71 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, directed by Drew Goddard, showcased a fiery blend of comedy, suspense, and horror.

It was Goddard’s first time directing a film in more than half a decade, but he has written the scripts for numerous successful films including Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z, and The Martian.

If you have seen any of the other movies that he’s worked on, then you should know that you are in for a treat with Bad Times. While the movie is long and suffers from a few pacing issues, there are plenty of scenes that either catch you by surprise, are shocking or disturbing, or

just fill you with dread.

That’s exactly what a good thriller should be like. It has all the jumpscares of a good horror movie, along with extended scenes that just build up anxiety levels. There are quite a few long scenes but they have the air of a life or death situation, which makes it impossible for those watching to be calm.

You never know who’s going to live or die, how they might die, who’s good, bad, or extremely bad. The movie is so good with character development and plot twists that I could tell you right now who the big baddie is and you could end up liking them the most or being moderately surprised.

So what is the movie about?

It follows the lives of seven strangers who meet at a hotel one night. Kind of like the plot for The Hateful Eight, only interesting. Jeff Bridges plays an old priest, Jon Hamm plays an eccentric and possibly introverted salesman, and Chris Hemsworth plays a guy who likes to walk around without a shirt on, Taylor Lautner style.

Over the course of the night, you learn about everybody. You see what each guest does for a living and what their deepest darkest secrets are. The film also displays a very light-hearted and comedic mood when needed, especially near the beginning.

The main sequence of the film starts off with four hotel guests all arriving at around the same time and interacting with each other while trying to get their rooms. It’s a pretty long scene with no mention of suspense or thrill, but the humor and tone of the conversations are a nice contrast to the rest of the movie.

There are many reasons to watch Bad Times. The acting is always top notch, especially from guys like Hamm and Hemsworth. The visuals and use of props are great and the music is usually fun. Plus, if you are a fan of suspense, it’s one of the best you can see. Even if you are only a fan of one of the actors, such as Hemsworth, it’s worth seeing. Many of the actors were in new territory with this film and excelled.

In terms of revenue, Bad Times hasn’t been doing all that well. On it’s first day it made just shy of $3 million, and just $7 million over the weekend. Six other movies have made more that weekend, which included two that were already out for two weeks. After its opening weekend, the movie failed to make more than $1 million in a day again, which means that it’s time in theaters might be short lived.

Despite the failure at the box office, Bad Times will likely end up on numerous lists as one of the 10 best films of the year.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor. He can be reached at richard.heaton@yorkmail.cuny. edu

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The Creative Corner I wish I could move

By Camryn Bruno Its funny how a living room could turn into a stadium in seconds how much fires could be started from a boxing match in living rooms he becomes Mayweather; her limbs a punching bag They say lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice her body is now a power pole She’s still in shock that he hit her again She lies on the floor like a flower decorating a casket When last you see a woman, get slapped silly, shut silent say shhh to secrets and still find a way to love him Some women work way harder than a fridge Always open Always on Ready for anything Insides cold As if they’ve prepared for death since creation Fridge leaks water Fridge wept again Which system tells us how men are programmed ?

If she believes that she is just like us An appliance To be used misused Abused And then replaced with warranties It’s a routine If i could’ve moved i would have moved out of here Because an appliance is never taught anything other than cleaning up the reckless acts of humans But there isn’t much that you can do when you can’t move outside of being shaken Bodies slam into me I am not a body I don’t heal like they do I have to stand there and watch them break everything into pieces Watch them break themselves as if the human body was made of ceramic I never asked for this, We decorate these four walls We watch We take impact like walls We hate how impact sounds We are not just appliances propped in the corner of rooms But people Widgets turned witness We are the embodiment of silence We are the public We turn a blind eye but still can’t look away from domestic violence Society says Turn the left cheek Pretend not to see But this is routine.

Camryn Bruno, 2018 Camryn Bruno is a contributing writer. She can be reached at camryn.bruno@yorkmail. cuny.edu

If You Have a Poem, Essay, Letter or Short Story You Would Like to Publish on Pandora’s Box, Send It to The Editor-in-Chief, at greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu.

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South Korean Rapper, RM, Releases His Second Mixtape

By Danielle Cruz Nearly two and a half years after the release of his first self titled mixtape RM, the leader of South Korean Band, Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), released his second mixtape Mono on Oct 23.

Though labeled a playlist on the cover art for the mixtape, Mono was first released for free Soundcloud before being made also available on digital-downloading and streaming sites.

Dropped with little warning and almost no promotion Mono quickly rose to no. 1 on Itunes in 90 countries making him the first korean artist to achieve that many No.1’s on itunes.

Mono also broke another record when it entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 26 after only three days of tracking, becoming the highest chart debut by a korean solo artist, beating the record set by fellow bandmate Jhope whose mixtape Hope World debuted at No. 63.

RM also rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Emerging Artist Chart once again becoming the first korean solo artist to achieve that ranking.

The mixtape has a total of seven tracks: Tokyo, Seoul, Moonchild, Badbye, Uhgood, Everythinggoes and Forever rain.

Also released were three lyric videos for Forever Rain, Seoul and Moonchild.

Tokyo is the first track on the mixtape and starts off with one of RM’s signature producing choices of including the sounds of Tokyo in the background as a haunting piano melody plays. In Tokyo RM talks about dealing with homesickness and he wonders if he’s actually missing someone or if he’s just missing himself.

It gives off a sense of sadness as it seems he is wondering if he can miss himself if he doesn’t even know who he is or if he doesn’t know if he loves or

RM at the Prudential Center during their Love Yourself Tour.

hates himself. Tokyo also sets the theme for the mixtape when he asks “why do love and hate sound just the same to me,” a recurring lyric in most of the songs.

Seoul, was co-produced by the British Electronic Duo Honne, and at first sounds like a song dedicated to the city of Seoul.

It seems as though he is saying that he loves Seoul because it is where he lives but he also hates the impersonalness of the city with its “fake parks” and the way so many people live together but have no personal connection.

In a way Seoul is about city life but one of the lyrics ask why Seoul sounds like Soul and implies that the listener should substitute Seoul to Soul when reading the lyrics. Then the song becomes about his conflicting emotions on himself as he says “If love and hate are the same words/ I love you Seoul/ If love

and hate are the same words/ I hate you Seoul.” So now the song seems to imply that he doesn’t know whether he loves or hates himself but all he know is that he won’t and in a way can’t leave and will keep living.

Moonchild is one of my two favorite songs off of Mono. It was a song that RM revealed he wrote for the people who can’t breathe during the day due to things like anxiety and depression and are only able to be calm during the night time. He ask for them to keep fighting each day and strive to live until every night.

The songs chorus tell them to not cry and enjoy the night time since it’s their time to shine. It’s a song with a fairly sad feeling but sort of hopeful at the same time since he continues to ask them to keep living and comforts them by telling them that they will always have a time shine.

Photo Credit: Danielle Cruz

Badbye was a track that RM wrote along with one of his long time friend eAeon and is meant to be an interlude in the mixtape.

The song is a play on goodbye instead he tells people badbye and is meant to depict someone who is struggling to cope and escape from the emotional pain they are feeling.

In Uhgood, which also translates to being off, RM touches on his identity crisis as he wonders what is the real and ideal version of him. He also discusses his constant feeling of loneliness, an issue his previous mixtape touched on, and his constant feeling that he is not measuring up to his full potential. However, in the song he sort of accepts this identity crisis and loneliness as a part of himself and just something he will always deal with. To him he sees these feelings as something he will have to overcome and

deal with in order to reach his “real self” Everythinggoes was a song RM wrote with fellow South Korean rapper Nell. Everythinggoes definitely has a more positive vibes as he says that what will happen will happen and that pain like everything else in life will pass as he constantly repeats “it will pass”. RM states that he believes that just like the seasons nothing not even hardships will last and that he won’t tell people to cheer up but will encourage them to keep on living by repeating “it will pass” to themselves.

Forever rain is also another one of my favorite songs off the mixtape. It was also the one song that RM said that he would want played at his funeral. Here RM talk about his depression and how sometimes he wishes he could stop the fast paced changes of his life.

He likens rain to a friend and wishes that it would rain forever because at least then he would have someone to cry with him and have someone constantly knocking on his window asking him if he is okay. It’s a fairly personal song as he talks about his daily struggle to find the will to stay alive as he raps “I’m still a hostage of life/ I don’t live because I can’t die/ But I’m chained to something.”

Mono is a big change from his other mixtape which had been directed at all the people who looked down on him when he left to become a part of an “Idol” boy group, now instead he talks about only himself and his struggles and triumphs with his depression and creates a playlist for his life that he hopes will offer comfort to others who feel the same.

Danielle Cruz is the Arts & Entertainment Editor. She can be reached at danielle.cruz @ yorkmail.cuny.edu

Three Books To Read This Winter

Photo Credit: João Silas

By Danielle Cruz With this semester coming to an end you’re probably looking forward to a relaxing time away from books and reading but if your a book lover like me you’re probably already looking for another novel or book series to read.

So here are three books to read over this upcoming winter break.

The Infernal Devices

By Cassandra Clare: Set in London during the Victorian Era, The Infernal De-

vices follows Tessa Gray as she begins to learn more about the Shadow World, a hidden community filled with supernatural creatures like warlocks, faes, vampires and Nephilim (children of angels and humans known as Shadowhunters).

Tessa gets thrown into this hidden world after finding out she has unique shape shifting powers, that allows her to access other peoples memories in order to better imitate them. She finds herself taken in by Shadowhunters after they rescue her from a group of kidnappers wanting to use her powers to their advantage.

The Infernal Devices is without a doubt my favorite book series. The way Cassandra Clare has created her characters throughout the trilogy allows readers to truly get immersed because even though the book centers around Tessa’s journey you also get to see the character development of the characters around her. Also the way each character is written allows you to imagine someone with those characteristics living during such a conservative era. She describes the setting in such vivid detail that you can see that she did her research so she could try and emulate how London would have looked back in the Victorian Era. The way Clare also structures the love triangle between Tessa, Jem and William is so beautifully written that it never feels cliched or over done.

The Mortal Instruments

By Cassandra Clare: This is definitely Cassandra Clare’s more popular book series since it has had both a Movie and TV series adaptation and is the sequel to The Infernal Devices.

Set also in the Shadow

World, The Mortal Instruments centers around Shadowhunters, Clary Fray and Jace Herondale.

It follows them as they try and stop Valentine Morgenstern, and later on his son Sebastian, from gaining ultimate power and killing off everyone who lives in the Shadow World.

At first I had been a bit hesitant to read this because I feared that since the series has six books the story would begin to feel drawn out and thankfully it doesn’t. Every scene leaves you with more questions than answers and there is always a plot twist right when you think the story is beginning to resolve itself. I also loved how she incorporated so many characters into the series in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you and also introduces characters that play an important role in both the prequel and the various sequels to The Mortal Instruments.

Jinx

By Meg Cabot: Though Meg Cabot might be more well known for her series The Princess Diaries, Jinx is one of my favorite books shes ever

written.

It follows Jean Honeychurch, better known by her nickname Jinx, as she moves to Manhattan to escape her stalker back in her hometown. Jinx apparently believes herself to be cursed as she has always had bad luck since the day she was born. She believes that her bad luck is the product of one of her great grandmothers who practiced witchcraft and so she hopes that by moving out of the town she’ll be able to leave the curse behind her.

It’s quite a quirky book and I feel like Jinx is written as such a relatable character that a lot of people can relate to her struggles to fit in. Also though the book has some supernatural elements to it it’s not in your face and sometimes I would forget that one of her conflicts is that she is cursed as she just seems more like an awkward clumsy person trying to adjust to city life and get away from her past.

Danielle Cruz is the Arts & Entertainment Editor. She can be reached at danielle.cruz @ yorkmail.cuny.edu

OP PBED Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

yorkpbnews.net

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The Cons Of York’s Cafeteria And Catering Service

By Sherry Shivprasad Aladdin offers a catering service to York College’s cafeteria.

Some students, staff, faculty, and guests who are on campus get food from the cafeteria. Hosts even order food from the cafeteria for their events. Yet, the cafeteria and it’s catering service offer more than just foods to its consumers. They offer problems.

First, they do not offer healthy food and drink options for their consumers. This is probably why most students or staff choose to bring their food or buy healthy options outside of campus.

On the York’s website it mentioned Aladdin as a “catering services has achieved the reputation of being one of the premiere catering services in this region.” This is obviously not true. Of what use is the catering service on campus if we have to go out and get food?

York student Fanny Ramos, a vegetarian is also upset about the food choices that Aladdin and the cafeteria offers.

I’m not thinking high cholesterol or heart attack,” Ramos said.

“Everything is burgers, fries, and garbage with over the top prices.

If your going to charge me an arm and a lege at least give me a reason.”

Another problem that the cafeteria offers is it’s lack of cleanliness. On Sept. 25, The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene slapped the cafeteria with a 37 sanitary violation points. The main critical sanitary violation was the presence of filth flies or food/refuse/sewage flies in food and non-food areas. This

Photo Credit: Sherry Shivprasad

is a repeated offense according to the Department’s website. Another violation included “Harborage of conditions conductive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exit.”

York’s students, staff and faculty deserve a sanitarily clean place to dine, if at all, we want to.

On an average day on campus, it is easy to spot papers, pens, napkins, drink bottles, food containers, food sauces and sometimes bugs crawling and flying around.

The insects that are present scavenge on food and hide away in dark places. Students and staff do not have to study,work or eat in such environment.

York student Rabina Poudel is also bothered by the lack of cleanliness.

“They don’t clean because there is a line of people who wait to buy breakfast,” Poudel said.

“Some people want pancakes and the other wants eggs and cheese.

They slide over the outside parts of the egg and make another breakfast without cleaning it.”

York has already purchased all of the food that is sold on campus from Aladdin. In turn, a food voucher would be given or raffled out to students. The voucher would be used as a cash substitute to pay for the meal. This system works well for York because they receive the money that is being spent instead of Aladdin. This deal allows the money that York spends to stay in the school rather than buying food from outside vendors.

Mental Health Stigma And Awareness

By Theodora Danso The Psychology club held its annual mental health awareness event on November 20th, 2018 while spotting their brightly green colored tee shirts. The message for this year’s event was, “Stop the Stigma.” According to the president of the club, Rebecca Philantrope, most people suffering from mental health issues do not seek help due to the stigma attached to it. She also mentioned how stigmatizing the individual can create other issues such as substance use and abuse, as a coping mechanism. Other members of the club also enlightened the student population on the different mental health issues and the resources available to seek help.

The event was filled with music

by DJ Alpha Red and numerous activities such as a do-it-yourself stress ball booth and of course free mental health awareness memorabilia.

It was also educational as it was fun. There were boards with information on the different mental health illnesses and why stigmatizing someone suffering from any mental health illness is a detriment to the individual and the people who love and care for the person. Also, present was Ellen Ritz, a representative from National Alliance on Mental Issues (NAMI). NAMI is a nationwide grassroot advocacy group who represent individuals affected by

Members of the Psychology Club at York at a Mental Awareness event.

Photo Credit: Theodora Danso

mental health illness in the United States. She talked about the different resources available to help people suffering from mental health issues such as the 24-hour helpline and volunteer opportunities available for anyone interested.

Did you know that the holidays is a very stressful time for some individuals? Individuals suffering depression have it worse during the holidays especially when they do not have any support system. They feel alone in the world and this can make it very difficult for them to even tackle daily activities. These and a number of other reasons is why mental health awareness is so important and also why we need to stop the stigma associated with mental health issues. Instead, we should encourage and offer sup-

port and empathize with people suffering from this silent killer. A little smile and kind words go a long way.

From the Psychology Club in York College to everyone reading this, STOP THE STIGMA! Its okay to seek the help you need. You are not alone. You are loved and cherished. You matter!!

Ellen Ritz spoke to some of the students at the event and answered questions about mental health and what we can do to help other during a mental health crisis. She also mentioned that the organization is always looking for students to volunteer.

Theodora Danso is a contributing writer. She can be reached at theodora.danso@yorkmail. cuny.edu

If York wants to stop it’s community from buying food from outside vendors, it needs to make sure that its community is not subjected to dining in such unfavorable conditions. We would prefer this in conjunction with the free food vouchers. Make the cafeteria cleaner! Make Aladdin offer healthier choices. The unsanitary condition and lack of healthy options affects the well being of people who currently eat Aladdin’s food.

Sherry Shivprasad is a contributing writer. She can be reached at sherry.shivprasad@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

OP PBED Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

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Code of Practice For Hiring at CUNY is not Being Followed

yorkpbnews.net

By Greis Torres There is an overarching communication and policy issue at the City University of New York.

Based on Pandora’s Box’s frontpage, the code of practice wasn’t followed accordingly when York College hired the lab technician who got arrested last January for selling cocaine on campus, and there wasn’t any communication between York’s and LaGuardia’s Title IX offices to let the other school know that an adjunct professor was found to be guilty of sexual misconduct.

According to the lab tech article, Timothy Hawkins had already served time in prison for the same crime a decade prior to his hiring at York. The CUNY code of practice clearly says that every new and current employee needs to have a background check conducted on them, but as Pandora’s Box reported this wasn’t apparently the case for the lab tech and is most likely the case for many CUNY employees.

But the thing that is more concerning about the two stories is how these issues seem to transcend York College. The professor who was fired from LaGuar- Pandora’s Box second issue front page. dia for sexual harassment also CUNY school is fired for sexual But this should be changed is that CUNY employs and/or taught at York. Once LaGuardia harassment. because such matters are public retains people who shouldn’t be fired him, he continued to teach The most important issue is records anyway, and it doesn’t teaching or in a place where there at York college. According to that York College won’t allow make the school look good when are many vulnerable students. As Alicia Franqui, the Title IX co- you to get more details about the they are trying to hide the fact a CUNY student I can only wonordinator at York College, there background of a person. Human that they have previous convicts der if CUNY really cares about isn’t any policy in place that says Resources says that the above is- and perverts walking around and the overall safety of its students CUNY campuses should alert sues fall under personnel matters teaching at York. and staff when they hire previeach other when a professor who and they are not allowed to disThe clear message that I got ous convicts and potential sexual is employed in more than one cuss it with the public. from Pandora’s Box’s front page predators. CUNY should be more

Photo credit: Pandora’s Box files.

transparent instead of trying to hide such crucial news to the student body for the sake of attracting more students.

Greis Torres is the Editor-in-Chief. She can be reached at greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny. edu

America Needs To Rally Together ASAP Against Trump!

Demonstrators at Union Square protesting against the Trump/Pence regime.

By Sherry Shivprasad President Donald Trump has done it all! He is certainly one of the most controversial U.S. presidents after just two years in office.

His new policies have impacted many people’s lives in America and in foreign countries. Recently, Trump has deported non-citizens who have overstayed their time here and taken children away from their families and placed

them into immigration jails.

Trump has enforced immigration laws that gave the U.S. immigration officers more power to decide the fate of illegal immigrant without going through further review. As a result, this has led to a vast rate of deportations and arrests.According to a BBC NEWS article titled “Ten Ways Trump has changed America”, there are people from various countries who have been unfairly denied

Photo credit: Sherry Shivprasad.

entry into the United States such as Middle Easterners. This is a clear evidence of racial discrimination which goes against equality that we preserve in the United States. It’s arbitrary because it should solely be based on valid documentation and reason for entry into the country.

Trump’s new immigration protocols are in effect across the country and it will make it harder for immigrants to enter into the

United States. Many immigrants are scared to be penalized for not having a social security card, visa, or citizenship.

Many immigrants fear deportation and being separated from their family. The immigration policies that are implemented were created to put immigrants in high risk of deportation. They have to follow the news on Trump’s policies, seek legal advice, and abide by emerging immigration bills that could affect their legal status.

Many people are seeking immediate help to obtain legal documentation for themselves and for their relatives who are in America or abroad.

If federal efforts to cut legal immigration in half is passed by the congress then citizens and permanent residents of the United States will be unable to bring their love ones here. Those who are going through the process of coming to the United States will may not be offered an opportunity to reunite with their families, obtain a better education, work opportunities, or to have a chance to be a part of America.

America should rally together to curb Trump’s immigration policies. He does not respect human rights and the values of most American citizens. EVeryone deserves a good and fair chance to be able to reunite with their families.

Sherry Shivprasad is a contributing writer. She can be reached at sherry.shivprasad@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

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PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

Mets General Manager Signing is a Strange Case

Citi Field before Mets game.

By Richard Heaton Following the conclusion of the world series, the New York Mets signed Brodie Van Wagenen as their newest general manager.

He will be in charge of trades and free agent signings with the team, as well as other prospect and player development.

But not everyone is excited about him being named the GM. Not because he isn’t a good fit, but because of his previous position.

Here’s where the problem lies, there’s a huge conflict of interest with the Mets signing Van Wagenen as their GM. In fact, it’s kind of surprising that some-

one from Major League Baseball didn’t step in and say that the Mets couldn’t sign him.

This happens often, not just in sports. Some sort of a controversy begins and someone steps in saying it creates a monopoly or gives someone an unfair advantage.

Well this is pretty much what’s going on here.

Remember back in 2008 when Jay-Z created Roc Nation? Five years later, he created a subdivision called Roc Nation Sports which served as a sports agency.

This was considered a huge conflict of interest because, at the time, Jay-Z owned a portion of the Brooklyn Nets.

Theoretically, he could have done all sorts of deals that nor-

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

mally wouldn’t be allowed since he would have served as both the agent and in charge of offering contracts. As a result, in order to stay as a basketball agent, he was forced to sell his portion of the Nets.

This is a similar situation, but the other way around. Until Van Wagenen became the Mets GM, not only was he an agent, but he was also the co-head of the baseball division of one of the largest agencies, Creative Arts Agency, which is actually partnered with Roc Nation Sports.

Of course, Van Wagenen was forced to relinquish his position with CAA in order to take on the role of GM, but the controversy is

still there because of his clients.

Most of his best clients are currently on the Mets, meaning that he is now in charge of trading and extending the contracts of players he worked so hard to get big contracts.

For example, in November 2016, he negotiated a four-year $110 million contract for Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. The deal broke the record for highest average salary for an outfielder in MLB history and the largest in Mets history. It seemed great at the time, but the contract can come back to haunt him because Cespedes still has two years and lots of money left on his deal.

It’s possible that there will be a time where Van Wagenen is unable to sign a big free agent because of the deal he asked for. He went above and beyond to make sure the previous Mets GM paid as much as possible for Cespedes, and now Van Wagenen is the one left stuck with the contract.

Cespedes wasn’t the only Mets player who Van Wagenen represented. Jacob deGrom, Tim Tebow, and Noah Syndergaard were his clients as well. deGrom is a star, possibly the best pitcher in baseball right now, and a few months ago, Van Wagenen made it clear that deGrom should be treated like one.

In July, Van Wagenen said that the Mets need to either trade deGrom or sign him to a long term extension. Many fans loved the idea of keeping deGrom for many more years but also felt threatened by the comments.

“Jacob understands this is an environment where they may be better off moving him to accomplish their long-term plan,” he said.

As an agent, Van Wagenen had no control over whether or not the

Men’s Basketball Starts Season on High Note

Men’s basketball team.

By Richard Heaton On November 10, the York College Men’s basketball season kicked off and five games in, it’s hard not to smile. For their first game of the season, which was at home, York played Maine Maritime and beat them by a score of 79-72.

They then went on to win each of their next two games and for a short time were had the number

one seed in CUNYAC. In total, the team has played five games during a nine game span before taking nearly two weeks off around Thanksgiving.

During those five games, York went 3-2 and had some great individual performances, by both seasoned players and newcomers.

One highlight of the teams first week of play was the dominance of senior Darin Dove, who after five games was one of the best point scorers among all of

Photo credit: Adisa Sobers

CUNY’s senior colleges. Against Cairn University on November 13, he scored 28 points while making eight three point shots.

Eight three pointers in a single game is incredible, only six players total even have eight on the season and they all played in at least four games. His total for the season is 20, which is the most among all senior college players.

He has one more than the runner up, Baruch’s William Sixsmith.

Dove had his next 20+ point

game on November 17, where he scored 30 against Morrisville, becoming the first York player with multiple 20 point games. For the season, Dove has 92 points, only three other players have more points. Two of the players who have scored more have played at least 60 more minutes.

Five games is a small sample size, but if he’s already having one of the best stretches that we have seen here at York. With a 26 game schedule, continuing at this pace would put Dove at around 500 points. The last time a York player reached 400 points in a season was in 2013.

Another highlight of the young season belongs to senior Taishaun Forehand-Jenkins. He is the only other York player to have a 20 point game this season. For the season, he has 67 points, which is the tenth most among senior colleges. He also has 25 assists, which is the second most.

Lastly, Devine Chisholm has been putting up a remarkable opening stretch, which culminated in his claiming CUNYAC’s Rookie of the Week honor. That’s right, Chisholm is a freshman and has been putting up solid numbers. He scored 17 points during his fifth game of the season and has eight steals.

There’s still a lot of season left to go. York has another 21 games to play through before the

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Mets traded or extended deGrom, just how much deGrom would make. Now, as the GM, fans are suggesting that he needs to put his money where his mouth is and actually do something about deGrom.

He spent weeks criticising the Mets and their lack of action with deGrom and now is in the position to actually do something. But this is where another conflict of interest comes into play. Will it be the GM part of him making the decision or the agent part. Will his previous relationship with deGrom play a role in how much deGrom gets in an extension or whether or not he gets traded?

Will he do what the previous GM did? Will he go back on his word and demands and simply do nothing? The role of GM has a lot of tasks and responsibilities, but many of the ones Van Wagenen will be doing is directly involving someone that he’s worked with for years. Not only did he work with these players and build relationships with them, he was trying to get as much money as he can out of the Mets which will also only hurt the amount of money that he has to work with.

Bob Nightengale called it one of the weirdest signings in MLB history. He mentioned how Van Wagenen has never worked in a front office and that he is essentially a traitor leaving behind many of his clients to try to sign them for as little as possible.

The GM meetings began during the first week of November, and Van Wagenen began his journey as the Mets GM trying to quickly get accustomed to his new life in the organization.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor. He can be reached at richard.heaton@yorkmail.cuny. edu

CUNYAC championships begin and a lot can happen. Of those 21 games, 15 are against other teams within CUNYAC and will mostly determine the teams chances at making the CUNYAC playoffs.

York will play in three conference games before the York Invitational takes place December 14. The first is on November 30 against Brooklyn College, the second is on December 4 against Hunter, and the third is on December 7 against Lehman.

Of those three teams, Brooklyn is the only one who finished the first stretch of the season with a better record than York as they are 4-1. Hunter is 2-2 and Lehman is 1-2. As a result, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume that York could win two out of those three games.

Now that we are five games into the season, and have a general idea of how well the team is playing, it’s also time to make a prediction on how well we think the team can play for the remainder of the season. With the amount of success the team has been having so far, a season with at least 15 wins could be in their future.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor. He can be reached at richard.heaton@yorkmail.cuny. edu

PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS

yorkpbnews.com

Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

Does Eli Manning Belong in The Hall of Fame?

By Richard Heaton Eli Manning has been having a terrible season this year with the New York Giants. Left and right, numerous fans have been calling for the Giants to get rid of him before they lose more games.

Halfway through the season, the Giants were 1-7 and Eli only got worse with each game.

But just because he’s having a terrible season and fans want him gone, doesn’t mean that they don’t still love him for what he’s already done for the team. In reality, his recent stretch of failures were just one small roadblock during a long career of success.

It even makes you wonder if Eli has what it takes to make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s played 14 seasons entering his 2018-2019 campaign and for the most part he’s put up numbers similar to other Hall of Fame players and great quarterbacks.

He won’t be able to reach the same stats as his brother Peyton Manning, but has been able to make a great name for himself during his time with the Giants.

One of his greatest achievements was his ability to consistently rack up a lot of passing yards every year.

He went 13 straight seasons throwing for at least 3,000 yards and looks like this year is going to make 14 easily. Entering the halfway point of the 2018 season, Eli had a little more than 54,000

Eli Manning in a game.

total passing yards under his belt.

That’s a lot. Only five quarterbacks have more, and they are all either in the Hall of Fame or well on their way. The other five players include Peyton, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and Dan Marino.

Marino finished his career with 61,000 passing yards, so it’s unlikely Eli can pass him and claim fifth unless he played for

another two or three seasons after the conclusion of this one.

When it comes to passing touchdowns, Eli is also near the top and is in great company. At the seasons halfway point, he had 347. Only six quarterbacks have more. If you look at the 14 quarterbacks with the most touchdowns, you begin to see a pattern. They are all either active legends or already in the Hall of

Photo credit: Mike Lizzi for FLICKR

Fame.

Including Eli, six of the 14 quarterbacks with the most touchdowns are still playing today and each of them are stars.

This list still includes Brady and Brees, but also includes the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger. Two of the 14 players have recently retired and are not eligible for the Hall of Fame but are still consid-

ered legends. This list features Peyton and Carson Palmer.

The remaining six players on this list are all Hall of Fame members. In fact, no quarterback who’s eligible for the Hall of Fame and threw more than 275 touchdowns was denied entry. Eli will most likely finish this season with close to 360. It’s also possible that he can pass Rivers for sixth most passing touchdowns.

It’s also possible that he keeps playing next season, but if he does, it would most likely be with another team. If he does keep playing for another season or two, at least until the age that Peyton retired, his numbers could get even better.

If his total numbers aren’t enough to get you on his side, then look at what he’s done during individual seasons such as awards and what he’s done for the team. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl four times in his career and the Giants won the Super Bowl twice with Eli. It’s clear where Eli stands next to other football legends despite his poor performance this year.

Once he’s eligible to enter the Hall of Fame, he should be one of the first few from his class to make it in.

Richard Heaton is the Sports Editor. He can be reached at richard.heaton@yorkmail.cuny. edu

PBPB

Pandora’s Box EDITORIAL BOARD:

STAFF REPORTERS:

• Editor-in-Chief: Greis Torres greis.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• Anslem Joseph anslem.joseph@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Asar John asar.john@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Rachel Dalloo rachel.dalloo@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Sherry Shivprasad sherry.shivprasad@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• Managing Editor: Pedro Bermejo pedro.bermejo@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• News Editor: Angel Adegbesan angel.adegbesan@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Arts/Ent. Editor: Danielle Cruz danielle.cruz@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• Assistant A&E Editor: Marc Torres marc.torres@yorkmail.cuny.edu

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

• Tuwanna Vassell tuwanna.vassell@yorkmail.cuny.edu • KeShaun Luckie keshaun.luckie@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Camryn Bruno camryn.bruno@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Autumn Matthews autumn.matthews@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Kiana Claudio kiana.claudio@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Theodora Danso theodora.danso@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• Sports Editor: Richard Heaton richard.heaton@yorkmail.cuny.edu

• Assistant Sports Editor: Fiifi Frimpong fiifi.frimpong@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Staff Photographer: Adisa Sobers adisa.sobers@yorkmail.cuny.edu • Faculty Advisor: Bill Hughes w.hughes@york.cuny.edu

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This policy states Pandora’s Box position on discrimantion. This policy applies to all Pandora’s Box employees, volunteers, members, clients, and contractors. Pandora’s Box follows an equal opportunity employment policy and employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status. This policy also applies to internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, terminations, outside vendors, members and customers, service clients, use of contractors and consultants, and dealings with the general public.

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PANDORA’S BOX SPORTS

yorkpbnews.com

Monday, Dec. 3, 2018

Successful York Senior York Roscher Homecoming Ready toEvent lead Attended Women’sby Basketball Hundreds

Men’s basketball team at Homecoming.

By Fiifi Frimpong On November 20, the York College Athletic Department and Student Development collaborated for the second annual Homecoming Tip-Off event, which was hosted by Shiggy.

All were welcome to attend the free event that took place in the gymnasium and were treated to free food and beverages throughout the night.

Attendees starting filling the gym at 7 p.m. while music was being played by special guest DJ Star. Over 400 people were in attendance by the start of the event.

Festivities began with Taishaun Forehand-Jenkins, senior guard for the men’s basketball team, introducing the cheerleading team. They performed a dance routine and were applauded at the end of the perfor-

mance. Graduating seniors from the cheerleading team were also honored, receiving crowns to congratulate them for their work.

After they received their crowns, the host of the night walked in and performed his viral dance with York students. Shiggy, creator of the “In My Feelings” Challenge that helped Drake secure his latest number one single, was greeted by an excited crowd.

Since the popular dance, Shiggy’s Instagram account surpassed two million followers.

Shiggy is a Queens native who gained his fame through comedy skits on social media. The same personality featured in his videos was present while hosting the event.

Michael Knight a York Journalism student enjoyed the performance. “I felt like Shiggy did a great job connecting with everyone when he got on the mic,” he

said. “From hyping up everyone by dancing or cracking jokes on the mic, he showed great energy.”

The energy Knight was talking about carried on when Shiggy introduced all of York’s sports team.

Each team came out to a different song and received a warm welcome from the crowd. The loudest ovations went to the men’s and women’s basketball team as they ran on to the court and showed off their dance moves.

One on the student athletes that riled up the crowd was Sheahna Roscher. The lone senior on the women’s basketball team expressed her belief in school spirit and her thoughts on thisyear’s Homecoming.

“Tip-off is an event that we just started last year,” she said.

“We didn’t do that my freshman and sophomore year. Things like that are cool. It brings out people from the school, people outside of

the school, and exposes all sports teams. I’m a big believer in school spirit and just having people show support.”

Fans from the crowd had a chance to compete against some of York’s athletes. Students and athletes participated in various contests throughout the night.

Attendees enjoyed three point shooting contests, soccer games, and a track race.

Rappers A-Homi, Wavybouiqe, and Flee ended the homecoming event with special performances. Nick Fraser, better known by his Instagram name “downgoes.fraser,” is another Instagram personality that was in attendance for the night’s festivities. He was seen engaging with the York community and taking photos with many fans in the crowd. After Homecoming was an after party filled with different types of music and dancing.

The second annual tip-off was a success, according to the associate director of athletics.

Carl Christian noted that it’s great to have these kind of events that get the community excited about the school and the 170 student athletes at York. He also went on to say festivities like this will be on the horizon in the future.

“It was great to get that kind of support on campus,” Christian said. “Student government has been supportive and we appreciate it. Overall, everyone had a good time. It’s about school spirit.

We’re trying to do more of these events in the future.”

Fiifi Frimpong is the Assistant Sports Editor. He can be reached at fiifi.frimpong@ yorkmail.cuny.edu

Student Athlete Spotlight: Sheahna Roscher

By Fiifi Frimpong The women’s basketball season is underway with a plethora of road games before their first home game on December 7 against Lehman College. Before that matchup, there are two important conference games that will be crucial for the team to get off to a great start in the CUNYAC. For a team that features a roster that has more underclassmen than upperclassmen, this experience will be new to most players.

Fortunately, there are just enough players with some experience that the team can lean on. There is also one player ready to lead the team to victory each and every time.

Sheahna Roscher, Journalism major and Communications minor, is ready to take on the leadership role and do whatever it takes to lead the team to victory. Roscher understands the importance of the role she possesses.

She stresses why she pays so much attention on setting a high standard so the younger players on the team can follow that same blueprint in their upcoming years.

“I wasn’t in that leadership role for the past three years,” she said. “So now I’m the only senior and most of the team is made up of freshmen. I am the example of

Photo credit: Adisa Sobers

Sheahna Roscher.

what you can be four years from now. My standard has to be high so that theirs can be higher than mine.”

For those that aren’t familiar with Roscher, she is a Bronx native that has hopes of becoming a sports broadcaster in the future. Her friends call her “She She”. You will most likely see her around campus with tons of energy and a huge smile on her face.

“I’m a fun person with good energy,” Roscher said. “I like to party, but not a lot. I like to go out and have fun. I do have those moments where I like to be by myself to read a book or read something on my phone.”

Roscher enjoys listening to hip hop and R&B. She describes herself as an old soul because of her interest in older R&B music along with selections from hip hop’s golden age. Ne-Yo, Beyonce, and Rihanna are some of her favorites from R&B. On the hip hop side, Tupac is her favorite. Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Biggie, and Dr. Dre can be found being replayed on her playlist as well.

Every young athlete has their inspirations in the pros that they look up to on and off the court.

Not only does Roscher have her favorites in the NBA, but she also has idols in the WNBA. Maya

Photo credit: York College Athletics Website

Moore is someone she looks up to.

She notes her toughness and competitiveness on display each time she touches the court. Roscher appreciates that because of the negative notion that women can’t compete on the floor like men do.

“I love the strength and fight she plays with,” she said. “She hustles and she’s such a competitor and I love that about her. People always feel like women can’t do what men do. Just because the WNBA doesn’t get the same exposure as the NBA doesn’t mean the women aren’t doing what the men are doing. The women must work ten times harder just to get

recognized. I just feel they deserve more respect.”

Balancing being a student athlete is a challenge experienced only by those willing to take that opportunity. The senior ballplayer noted there has been countless lessons learned along the college journey.

She said during her freshman year, joining the team wasn’t even an option. Fast forward to now, Roscher appreciates the lessons learned from being a student athlete.

When asked what she would tell her freshman self now after what she’s learned from a couple years at York, she mentioned invaluable lessons learned along the way.

“Overall as a student don’t allow sports to distract you from your main goal, which is to get your degree,” she said. Always remember you’re a student first.

For sports, I would tell my freshman self to be more prepared.

Mentally, I was still a kid coming out of high school… you really have priorities. Your mentality has to be strong so it will guide you to where you need to be.”

Fiifi Frimpong is the Assistant Sports Editor. He can be reached at fiifi.frimpong@ yorkmail.cuny.edu