The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 11

NOVEMBER 6, 2019 • VOLUME 90 • ISSUE 11

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

OPINION: HOGAN LOT P. 5

SPORTS: BASKETBALL PREDICTIONS P. 10

ARTS & LIFE: GETTING HANDSY P. 6

A break from Centerbrook

Master plan drafted by QU’s lead architect goes unused in the wake of strategic plan

By EMILY DISALVO News Editor

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Centerbrook compiled its years of work at Quinnipiac into a book, which includes a proposed master facilities plan.

Centerbrook, an architectural firm nestled alongside the Connecticut shoreline, has been designing a majority of the Quinnipiac campuses for the past 40 years.

When President Judy Olian came to Quinnipiac in 2018 with a new vision and accompanying strategic plan for the university, Centerbrook hoped to continue playing an integral role in drafting the next chapter of Quinnipiac’s history.

Olian’s university-wide strategic plan includes a facilities master plan outlining the Quinnipiac’s space needs for the next five to 10 years.

The university held a lengthy interview process to select the architectural firm that would be tasked with creating the facilities master plan.

While Centerbrook made it to the final four firms, it ultimately was not selected to draft the plan, a sharp break with the firm that designed the Quad, Echlin Center and other iconic aspects of the university.

“We didn’t part with them,” Sal Filardi, vice president of facilities and capital planning, said.

“What we were doing was we’re expanding the resources available to the university.”

Ayer Saint Gross, an employee-owned design firm based in Maryland, was chosen to complete the master plan instead of Centerbrook.

Previously Centerbrook was commissioned

by Quinnipiac in the summer of 2013, prior to Olian and her strategic plan, to prepare a master plan, according to Jeff Riley, principal in charge of all Centerbrook work related to Quinnipiac.

Riley explained that the 2013-14 plan was relevant and useful based on former Quinnipiac President John Lahey’s plan for the university

and his leadership style.

“Essentially, Dr. Lahey devised a strategic plan along the way as opportunities and urgent needs arose,” Riley said. “The plan we delivered in the spring of 2014 was, nonetheless, nearly 400 pages long and in two volumes and was devised to accommodate the future – ‘A Living Master Plan.’”

While the university paid Centerbrook almost $8.4 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2014 according to the 990 form, Riley could not say how much the university spent on the plan it ultimately did not use. The 990 form is the university’s public tax filing.

Filardi said that while the university has paid Centerbrook for planning projects through the years, it was never paid to create a master facilities plan that aligned with the new strategic plan.

“We have paid Centerbrook over the years for different planning efforts and, yes, Centerbrook, as the author of the planning, can say they did the planning for us, but, no, we do not have a comprehensive master plan based on the new Strategic Plan or our current and future needs that can guide us going forward,” Filardi said.

Filardi said the plan Centerbrook proposedwas not so much a plan, but a collection of prior designs.

“I think Centerbrook has taken all the things they’ve done over the years and put it together and called it a master plan, but it’s more of something they put together,” Filardi said.

Riley said he hoped Centerbrook’s plan, as a “Living Master Plan,” would have been See CENTERBROOK Page 2

Finance fallout

SGA vice president of finance resigns, leaving a trail of untracked payments and unfulfilled reimbursements

SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING ON

QUCHRONICLE.COM Our award-winning website since 2009

JOIN US

The Quinnipiac Student Government Association (SGA) is performing an audit of its finances and scrambling to fix issues left behind

by SGA Vice President for Finance Glenn Adams, who will resign after the election of a new vice president for finance on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

There are three likely candidates for the position, according to SGA Vice President Sophia Marshall.

SGA President Austin Calvo says that previous Vice President for Finance John Killah dug SGA into a massive hole in terms of tracking expenses and reimbursements and Adams was left to clean up the mess. “(Killah) essentially did not do his job for most of the year,” Calvo said. “We didn’t know that because whenever (SGA Advisor and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs) Matt Kurz was like, ‘Oh, what’s the account like how much do we have?’ He would always say, ‘Oh, we have this amount,’ and he would always be within a margin of error on the actual amount.”

SGA does not have a dedicated Quinnipiac company credit card. Instead, it uses Kurz’s company credit card. Any university company card is frozen after three purchases under $50 or

one purchase over $50 goes untracked. Adams left hundreds of expenditures untracked according to Calvo. Many SGA members spent most of their weekends in the SGA suite auditing the spending. The university has frozen the card, and SGA’s future use of company cards is currently in question. The Chronicle reported about these new financial policies back in September.

While the card is frozen, no student organizations can use the credit card to purchase things for their events. Currently, finance board members are encouraging student organizations to submit for reimbursement. Calvo says that SGA is also caught up on reimbursements and that students can expect their reimbursements in about two weeks.

Adams says that the university is allowing SGA to perform a full audit of finances before a final decision is made. It is unclear about when a decision will take place, and Adams said that the SGA Executive Board is currently trying to complete the audit as quickly as possible. They are also brainstorming ways to make sure students can still spend their budgets if the worst happens.

SGA has a budget of around $855,000 to fund See FINANCE Page 2

Staff Meetings on Tuesdays at 9:15 p.m. in SB123

PHOTO FROM SGA

SGA Vice President for Finance Glenn Adams will officially resign from his position Wednesday, Nov. 6.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

@quchronicle

@quchronicle

INDEX

Associate News Editor

CONNECT

By STEPHEN MACLEOD

Opinion: 4

Arts and Life: 6

Sports: 10

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

2| News

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bryan Murphy MANAGING EDITOR Alexis Guerra CREATIVE DIRECTOR Janna Marnell NEWS EDITOR Emily DiSalvo ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Stephen MacLeod OPINION EDITOR Toyloy Brown III ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Jessica Simms ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ryan Miller SPORTS EDITORS Brendan O’Sullivan Jared Penna DESIGN EDITOR Ilana Sherman

THE QUINNIPIAC CHRONICLE is the proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ award for College Newspaper of the Year in New England for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16.

MAILING ADDRESS Quinnipiac University 275 Mount Carmel Avenue Hamden, CT 06518 THE CHRONICLE is distributed around all three university campuses every Wednesday when school is in session except during exam periods. Single copies are free. Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and/or subject to university discipline. Please report suspicious activity to university security (203-582-6200). For additional copies, contact the student media office for rates.

Riley: ‘It would be a tragedy if its magic was smothered or lost entirely. It can happen’ CENTERBROOK from cover chosen by the university despite the change in leadership.

“The big difference between our plan from 2014 and today, as I said, is that there is now a strategic plan in place thanks to Judy Olian,” Riley said. “It was hoped, however, that our ‘Living Master Plan’ would accommodate any number of future strategic plans.”

The first volume of the 2014 plan displayed a 3D model of every space available on all three campuses, noting the functionality and available resources at each. It included a projection of all space needs the university would face in the next 10 years, based on how much each space is used.

Centerbrook used this information to figure out which areas needed to construction or expansion.

The second volume scoped out all the potential places where new buildings could be built, analyzing the pros and cons of each space.

This plan led to several proposals for new buildings. In 2014, Centerbrook proposed a new health and wellness center between Echlin and the Center for Communications and Engineering (CCE), two elevated parking lots on main campus, an elevated parking lot on the North Haven campus for the medical school, a theater on Whitney Avenue and a campus inn on Whitney Avenue.

The plan also called for expansion of the current recreation center on main campus. Proposals like these eventually conflicted with Olian’s strategic plan, which called for one holistic health and wellness center that would encompass recreation and medical and mental health care. Centerbrook was not chosen to design the new health and wellness center, which is being designed by designLAB architects in Boston.

Each of these proposals from Centerbrook, along with the original master plan, were included in a lengthy book by Riley called, “The Architectural Story of Quinnipiac University– Four Decades, Three Campuses, Two Presidents, One Architect.”

Centerbrook was the primary architect, for a while at least. Filardi said in the past 10 years, Quinnipiac has been working to include other architects besides Centerbrook.

“Instead of just handing everything to Centerbrook, whatever we want to do goes to Centerbrook and we say, ‘OK, this is what we want to do,’” Filardi said. “Well, who are the best firms out there to help us do this?”

Riley said he was surprised and disap-

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Centerbrook drafted a plan for a health center located between Echlin and CCE. pointed that Centerbrook was not chosen to draft the newest master plan given its history with Quinnipiac.

“I only hope the new master plan adheres to some of what I believe has made Quinnipiac a very special place, unlike any other I am aware of,” Riley said. “It is a place that has become beloved by many people, and it would be a tragedy if its magic was smothered or lost entirely. It can happen.”

One chapter of the architectural story is titled, “Where Quinnipiac Goes From Here.”

The chapter includes the master plan that Centerbrook created in 2017, derived from the 2014 version. This was the one that Quinnipiac saw during the interview process that selected Ayer Saint Gross.

The book includes simulated drawings of a field house, Greek housing, a wellness center and chapel and other blueprints. The drawings take into account existing buildings, which are colored in purple, and yellow buildings which are the projects under consideration.

These 16 pages of the heavy, hard-cover Quinnipiac history book detail a, “formula for success.” The book warns of what can happen

ADVERTISING inquiries can be sent to advertise@quchronicle.com.

Inquiries must be made a week prior to publication.

SEND TIPS, including news tips, corrections or suggestions to Bryan Murphy at editor@quchronicle.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be between 250 and 400 words and must be approved by the Editorin-Chief before going to print. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit all material, including advertising, based on content, grammar and space requirements.

Send letters to editor@quchronicle.com. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Chronicle.

November 6, 2019

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Centerbrook has been designing Quinnipiac’s campuses for 40 years.

when campus master planning goes poorly.

Riley pointed out that the following chapter,

by Chad Floyd, the founder of Centerbrook, is about lessons learned by other colleges during the master planning process.

Riley said this should serve as a warning to Quinnipiac as it starts a new chapter with a new architectural firm.

“The new construction should be close to the central crossroads of the campus,” Floyd wrote. “Reset projects can provide sweeping rebirth for campuses that have lost their way … Resetting also can introduce a denser pattern of development, making more efficient use of land resources.”

Centerbrook is still working on several small projects across Quinnipiac’s three campuses.

These include upgrades to the men’s and women’s varsity athletic locker rooms and renovations to the Rocky Top Student Center to create a bar, according to Riley.

The university paid Centerbrook $2.78 million in the fiscal year ending in 2018, according to the most recent 990 form available. John Morgan, vice president for public relations, said Centerbrook was working on renovations to CCE, Buckman, Tator Hall, the Black Box Theatre and the North Haven research lab.

It also worked on the field hockey and soccer and lacrosse stadiums, as well as scoping for new residence halls, Morgan said.

At the same time, other firms besides Centerbrook and Ayer Saint Gross are also working to design the future of the campuses.

Amenta Emma Architects in Stamford and Hartford, Connecticut, and Apicella and Bunton in New Haven, Connecticut, are two other firms employed by Quinnipiac.

Filardi said the master plan being drafted

by Ayer Saint Gross should be completed by May 2020. He said this master plan will be open for change.

“Though it’s kind of a roadmap to the future, it should be flexible enough that there’s different ways to get to the same spot,” Filardi said.

Marshall: ‘From tragedy, you have to rise from the ashes and grow’ FINANCE from cover over 80 student organizations. The vice president for finance is tasked with tracking spending and reimbursing student leaders in the past. During his time in office, Adams tried to train members of SGA who are on the finance board to assist in reimbursements and tracking.

SGA announced last week that it will be hiring a graduate assistant to assist future vice presidents for finance. Calvo now says that the executive board will propose a part-time assistant who would be an employee of the university, and therefore have access to a company card. Adams said he has faith that someone will be able to step into his role and right the ship.

“I am confident that the person that follows

me can do a phenomenal job,” Adams said. “I am confident SGA can handle this.”

SGA has not put out an official statement about the resignation of Adams or the freezing of the company card. Calvo says they will be sending out a press release when a new vice president for finance is elected.

“I did not even know that he resigned, nobody got any notification that this happened,” Giulia Capicotto, president of the Italian Cultural Society, said. “I understand why he would resign as it is a position that requires a lot of work on top of classes. I hope this will be a sign to the school that there needs to be a change in the structure of the student government in terms of finance.”

Candidates running for to be the next vice president of finance will need to get 700 student

signatures, but SGA will hold an internal vote during a closed-doors session.

Calvo, who was elected to the position of vice president for student experience by following a resignation, says that an internal vote allows for senators to be able to question someone in a free environment. He said that this will allow for the best candidate to come forward.

Marshall is hopeful that SGA will be able to make changes to ensure a similar situation does not happen again.

“From tragedy, you have to rise from the ashes and grow,” Marshall said. “I think this is a really cool opportunity for our organization to kind of look at things that haven’t necessarily been working and try to make a change for the better for the student body.”

November 6, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

A picture-perfect surprise

FEATURED EVENTS WANT YOUR EVENT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE CHRONICLE? Email tips@quchronicle.com

Wednesday, Nov. 6 Yale ITS Event The Computer Information Systems Society will be hosting alum Jessica Zaczak, an IT Compliance Officer for Yale ITS. She will be speaking about how she got into the information technology industry in SC 120 at 4 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 8 Paint-by-Numbers Palooza Students can unwind and paint with their friends at 10 p.m. in the Rotunda Lounge. The Student Programming Board (SPB) will be providing a free paint-by-numbers kit and snacks.

Saturday, Nov. 9 Fusion Pilates Barre QU Fit Fam is hosting an off-campus trip to Fusion Pilates Barre Studio in Hamden. The trip is open to all students but there are limited spots available in the group fitness class. The class will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 12 WQAQ Open Mic Night WQAQ will be putting on an open mic night in the Piazza at 9:15 p.m. Students will have the opportunity to perform songs and skits while enjoying free food and music.

News |3

Quinnipiac’s second Bobcat of the Month captures all of the values of a Quinnipiac student

By BRYAN MURPHY Editor-in-Chief

When senior media studies major Liz Flynn went to work as a photographer at the Quinnipiac men’s soccer game last Saturday, she thought it was going to be just another day taking pictures for the athletics department.

Little did she know, this time, she would be on the other end of the camera – and one of the biggest highlights of the day.

“I’m standing around waiting, and then there’s announcement coming over the loudspeaker,” Flynn said. “Then, all of a sudden, I hear my name and I’m very confused.”

It was in that moment at halftime during the game that Flynn was named as October’s Bobcat of the Month. Swarmed by balloons, banners and even fatheads of herself, Flynn was engulfed by friends in her Chi Omega sorority.

“They all just ran out onto the field and I was like, ‘Are you kidding?’” Flynn said. “I couldn’t believe it. I was pretty much frozen in my spot.”

Flynn has built up quite the resume in her time at Quinnipiac. She is the secretary for the Chi Omega sorority, the vice president for the Quinnipiac Bobcat Sports Network, the marketing director for Q30 Television, a photographer for Quinnipiac Athletics and also a member of the Association for Women in Sports Media. “(Flynn’s) involvement really stood out to (the Student Government Association),” said Jamien Jean-Baptiste, the vice president of public relations for SGA. “The fact that the athletes depended on her to take pic-

BRYAN MURPHY/CHRONICLE

SGA surprised Liz Flynn at a soccer game on Saturday with the honor.

tures at the game, that’s something that really fit the criteria.”

Jean-Baptiste explained that SGA had a slightly different policy this time around for picking the Bobcat of the Month. They cre-

ated a rubric that they would go through and give specific scores for certain categories such as academic excellence, extracurricular involvement and sports excellence, all while the names of the students remained anonymous.

Due to Flynn’s strong involvement in student organizations, it comes as no surprise that the person who nominated her, senior advertising Christina Vittas, works with Flynn in those groups. Vittas is the Chi Omega president and also the Q30 planning and engagement coordinator Ironically, the two had discussed it when SGA first announced it the revival of the award back in September.

“If there could be a Bobcat of the Month every month, it should be Liz Flynn,” Vittas said. “She really does it all and never complains about all that she does. She’s such a great role model and just so driven and it amazes me every single time.”

While Flynn will enjoy the $250 gift card to the bookstore, she knows this recognition is something she’ll remember forever.

“I know I do a lot on campus and I’ve been really lucky to be put in leadership positions, but I’ve always been that way,” Flynn said. “I love being involved and doing things for others and just trying to better myself and the Quinnipiac community because this is the place that really gave me my career and gave me everything that I really need to do for my life.

“Thinking that people look at me and think that I did deserve something like this is surreal and I definitely won’t take anything like that for granted.”

The Quinnipiac Chronicle GET MORE OUT OF YOUR CAREER Start with the advanced degree that’s right for you LEARN MORE

qu.edu/grad graduate@qu.edu 800-462-1944

BUSINESS: MBA1 MBA–Finance1 MBA–Health Care Management1 MBA–Supply Chain Management1 JD/MBA Accounting Business Analytics2 Organizational Leadership2 EDUCATION: MAT–Elementary MAT–Secondary Educational Leadership Instructional Design2 Special Education2 Teacher Leadership2 ARTS & SCIENCES: Molecular & Cell Biology

1

COMMUNICATIONS: Interactive Media & Communications2 Journalism Sports Journalism Public Relations3 HEALTH SCIENCES: Advanced Medical Imaging & Leadership Biomedical Sciences Cardiovascular Perfusion Occupational Therapy Pathologists’ Assistant Physician Assistant Radiologist Assistant Social Work JD/MSW

NURSING: Adult Gerontology or Family Nurse Practitioner Care of Populations2 Nurse Anesthesia Nursing Leadership2 Operational Leadership2 ENGINEERING: Cybersecurity2 LAW: JD–Juris Doctor JD/MBA JD/MELP JD/MSW LLM in Health Law MEDICINE: MD–Doctor of Medicine Anesthesiologist Assistant

Program offered on campus, online and hybrid 2 Program offered online only 3 Program offered on campus or online

QU ChronicleGradAd quarter page_FINAL.indd 1

9/11/19 12:10 PM

DON'T MISS WHAT'S NEW! COME TO WEEKLY MEETINGS ON TUESDAY AT 9:15 P.M. IN SB 123 TO GET INVOLVED

4| O p i n i o n

November 6, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Opinion

QUCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION OPINION@QUCHRONICLE.COM

You can eat a sandwich without being insensitive Accept Chick-fil-A on campus

By MICHAEL SICOLI Staff Writer

Who would have thought a chicken sandwich could be so controversial?

Quinnipiac journalism professor Margarita Diaz tweeted an impassioned message about a Chick-fil-A food truck that was on campus Oct. 28. She claimed that due to Chick-fil-A’s outspoken stance in favor of the traditional family model of husband and wife, Quinnipiac was endorsing the same values that Chick-fil-A supports.

“Why does @QuinnipiacU continue to welcome @ChickfilA to campus?” Diaz tweeted.“This company’s ownership has zealously embraced a homophobic stance. We can do better.”

As a result of Diaz’s tweet, the university issued a statement.

“We expect all vendors to uphold our commitment to equity and inclusion,” the spokesman said. “Our community will continue to engage in thoughtful dialogue on broad issues related to diversity and inclusion.”

Diaz said she believes having Chick-fil-A on campus means that Quinnipiac does not support the LGBTQ community in the way it should.

“I believe that the presence of Chick-fil-A on campus sends the message that QU tacitly condones the position of Chick-fil-A’s owners regarding LGBTQ people,” Diaz said.

I can’t help but firmly disagree.

According to John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, the truck was here for a fundraiser.

“A university sorority invited Chick-fil-A onto campus on Monday as part of a fundraiser for a local shelter that supports victims of domestic violence,” Morgan said.

As Morgan said, the truck was invited here. Chick-fil-A chose to help out; it did not need to do so. More importantly, the students clearly wanted Chick-fil-A on campus. The students chose Chickfil-A to represent a cause, domestic violence, that is important to this group.

“The university will schedule conversations to better understand and discuss the student, staff, and faculty concerns related to using Chick-fil-A as a vendor,” Morgan said in a prepared statement to the CT Post.

A closed meeting was also held on Monday, Nov. 4. regarding inclusivity and diversity on campus. President Judy Olian stood by Diaz and welcomed her opinion, though Diaz did feel like Olian did not go far enough.

“President Olian may have missed an opportunity to talk about the need for different culture at our institution and ultimately this is not about Chick-fil-A or any other vendor,” Diaz said. “It’s about what the university stands for.”

Don Sawyer, vice president for equity and inclusion, did say that a meeting about the Chick-fil-A food truck debate would take place next week.

From my perspective, having Chick-fil-A on campus in no way supports the values that it has. This is the equivalent to having a FootLocker sell Adidas products and saying FootLocker endorses sweatshops. It just wants to offer a good experience to its customers.

Wearing Adidas does not mean you support sweatshops. Playing Call of Duty does not mean you support death and war. It is possible to enjoy a product without supporting the company’s brand recognition or values.

Ordering a Chick-fil-A shake with some waffle fries does not make you a bad person. It simply makes you hungry.

Diaz does believe that people who buy the product without knowing Chick-fil-A’s beliefs are unintentionally backing them.

“I think that if you are a customer somewhere, and you are using your money to support that company and you don’t take the trouble to figure out where that money goes, then in some ways you are inadvertently supporting those values,” Diaz said.

Chick-fil-A did not respond to this situation at Quinnipiac, but it did respond to anti-LGBTQ reports back in March. The reports claimed that the company gave almost $2 million to organizations that support the biblical definition of a family.

“To suggest that our efforts in supporting these organizations was focused on suppressing a group of people is misleading and inaccurate,” a Chick-fil-A statement read. “It is well-known that our founder S. Truett Cathy used biblical principles to guide our business in its formative stages, and that we still uphold those same principles today.”

Chick-fil-A does not refuse service to members of the LGBTQ community. It is widely acknowledged that Chick-fil-A workers are cheerful and respectful to everybody who enters their stores.

According to a study done by QSR Magazine in 2016, Chick-fil-A was graded as the most polite fast food chain in the country.

Chick-fil-A does not actively discriminate against the LGBTQ community. It may preach the traditional family unit and support

Sororities and other student organizations have invited Chick-fil-A to campus for fundraisers.

Christian values, but the restaurant does not turn away gay or lesbian customers. Diaz does acknowledge this and stated that she was talking about the owners of Chick-fil-A that have a foundation and the foundation funds of those organizations.

“This is not about me telling Chick-fil-A what they can believe in,” Diaz said. “This is about me objecting to my university bringing them here because of the values that we say we espouse as an institution which contradict their values.”

Diaz worries about how the presence of Chick-fil-A conflicts the universities’ policies regarding inclusivity. I do not believe this to be the case. The university is more than capable of keeping their own policies separate from Chick-fil-A’s. Their presence here allows students to have an extra dining option.

The university hosts food trucks all the time. Having Chickfil-A be one of them should be no different. People don’t get an anti-LGBTQ pamphlet with every sandwich.

I am not even here to defend Chick-fil-A’s core values, but I am here to defend its right to believe in its values. Having the chain on campus for a day in a food truck does not compromise the principles Quinnipiac gives its students.

According to a statement Diaz gave to the New Haven Register, she does not agree.

“What if Chick-fil-A were giving money to racist organizations? Or the Klan?” Diaz asked. “Would we look the other way and invite them to campus? What makes discrimination against LGBTQ folks so different?”

I can answer those questions.

According to recently released tax filings analyzed by ThinkProgress in 2017, Chick-fil-A donated about $1.6 mil-

“I am not even here to defend Chick-fil-A’s core values, but I am here to defend its right to believe in its values. Having the chain on campus for a day in a food truck does not compromise the principles Quinnipiac gives its students.”

– MICHAEL SICOLI

STAFF WRITER

PHOTO FROM WIKICOMMONS

lion to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a known antiLGBTQ organization.

I do not condone this. Supporting a group that has not come around to a modern way of thinking is not something I can get behind. The LGBTQ community has fought an uphill battle to achieve equal rights when it comes to modern day discrimination, like simple marriage rights.

But at the end of the day, these are ideas people believe in.

Chick-fil-A has the right to believe in its own ideas. The company is not going out of its way to harm or hurt other people. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes recently held a group prayer over the rising homicide rate in Baltimore. The Ku Klux Klan has killed people and stoked racial tensions throughout history as recent as Charlottesville in 2017 during the multi-day, white supremacist rally. Putting Chick-fil-A and the Ku Klux Klan in the same sentence is ridiculous.

The Klan tortures and murders any one who does not fit their version of what a person should be. There still is not a confirmed number on the amount of people the Klan has killed.

This is not even comparable to a group that preaches Christian values.

I am well aware that the LGBTQ community has faced its fair share of discrimination. As of 2018, only 20 states and the District of Columbia have anti-bullying laws that are meant for LGBTQ students, according to The Williams Institute. But preventing people from enjoying a product because some people differ in opinion goes against the freedom that embodies the American belief system.

Freedom of expression is important. Just because people disagree does not mean that one side is right, and one side is wrong. It is perfectly normal and expected to have differing opinions.

This is not even the case here. Chick-fil-A came to Quinnipiac to sell sandwiches for a fundraiser against domestic violence. It did not come here to preach Christian values and spew anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Despite all of this, I recognize that some people feel very strongly about Chick-fil-A. Not everyone wants to eat at this chain because they believe it associates them with an anti-LGBTQ sentiment. I do not believe this to be the case, but I understand their thought process.

Boycott then. Don’t eat at the truck.

While Diaz clearly said to me that she was “not advocating for a boycott or anything like that,” it remains an option. It does not need to be a nationwide movement, but if an individual does not want to give their money to Chick-fil-A, no one is forcing them to do so. Diaz was not compelled to eat their food and instead took the alternative route to voice her opinion.

“When my university invites (Chick-fil-A) to campus, it’s saying, ‘Come on. Sell your product. We don’t care who you are. We don’t care what you stand for,” Diaz said. “I care. That is why I stood up.”

There is a clear and very simple solution in my eyes. If you disagree with the company enough to protest it or disapprove of it, do not eat there. Preventing other people from welcoming the truck onto campus because you do not agree with the owner’s values seems unfair to the students that do not share your mindset or value the product.

So, sit down and have a sandwich. Or don’t. Either way, there’s nothing wrong with having Chick-fil-A on campus.

November 6, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Opinion|5

Constructive construction

Hogan Road and Hogan Lot need some serious upgrades

By RYAN MILLER

Associate Arts & Life Editor

Quinnipiac University, the university of the future. While we watch renovations to three of our residential areas, a reinvention of our health center and the construction of a pub on York Hill, it’s not hard to begin asking ourselves what’s next?

The answer is just as simple, or at least it should be: renovate Hogan Road and Hogan Lot. As a student whose most convenient parking location is Hogan Lot, I have noticed a thing or two that stands for improvement.

The first issue with traveling to and from Hogan Lot is visibility. Hogan Road has lights on just one side of the street, and not all of them are functional. Those that are working are quite dim, necessitating the use of high beams driving down the road.

This already poses a risk to other drivers though, for if someone is passing you, you run the risk of blinding them.

As an area in which multiple students loiter around either before or after a night out at clubs in New Haven, you would expect this area to be well lit to ensure the safety of both the driver and the students on the side of the road.

Because we are located in such a nature-filled area, I have also twice encountered a family of deer crossing Hogan Road as I was returning to school, and the first time I nearly didn’t see them due to how dark it was.

If you think that’s the most dangerous part about traveling to Hogan Lot, you have another thing coming.

The quality of Hogan Road, especially on the right-hand side when traveling towards Hogan Lot, is unacceptable. At a certain point, the concrete has seemingly disintegrated into a pile of debris. As a driver, this naturally makes you want to shift over towards the left side of the road more, which would be fine if there were enough room.

With no sidewalk leading to our field hockey and soccer fields, parents visiting to watch their kids play on the weekends awkwardly shimmy down Hogan Road in single-file lines to avoid impeding traffic. A newly renovated Hogan Road could

certainly include a better pathway to the fields that doesn’t involve off-roading it or taking a chance that college students will have enough patience to wait for your party of 10 to make it to the field hockey game.

Hogan Lot is also home to our Uber drop-offs. During busy weekends, it’s difficult to get to the lot when there are crowds of students examining your license plate hoping you are the chariot they await while also zigzagging around the double-parked Ubers who are patiently waiting for their patrons as their late fee begins to set in.

If you are already in Hogan Lot trying to leave during a busy party weekend, all I can say is good luck. The way that the lot is designed, there is just one way in and one way out. When you park down one of its rows and proceed to exit, you are turning back onto the same part of the road other cars are using to enter. This means, at times, you are turning into oncoming traffic.

That’s alright though, certainly someone or something will direct you, right? Wrong.

Hogan Lot has just one stop sign, and it’s located at the exit.

That doesn’t do you much good when you’re trying to leave the row you’re parked in and can’t see around the corner of it if anyone else is coming before you make your turn.

But wait, students know to slow down in the lot, right? Or at least they’ll be trained to when they drive over those abnormally large speed bumps we’re so accustomed to on campus. Well, not quite. We have those in Hogan Lot, but also only at the entrance and exit. It almost feels like someone started designing the lot and then sort of just gave up halfway through and the school just opened it anyway. Talk about safety first.

Speaking of safety, with our new initiatives on campus to make the area better protected, Hogan Lot seemingly negates that progress. While the Q card tap in system for the York Hill garage is a very nice addition, the only thing stopping someone from driving down Hogan Road, parking in Hogan Lot and walking right onto campus is a chain link wire that stands about two feet tall.

In addition, I have found that most nights when I return to

ALEXIS GUERRA/CHRONICLE

Quinnipiac needs to put the only stop sign in a better place than just at the exit of Hogan Lot.

campus, I don’t interact with any public safety officers. In fact, I have been asked to show my ID a grand total of one time the entire semester when walking from Hogan Lot. I am not pointing out all of the flaws with Hogan Road and Hogan Lot to complain about them, but rather to shed light on the subject (and with any luck, on the road itself) in hopes that something can be done about it. If we really want to move forward and become the university of the future, let’s solve some of these easy problems that impact students every day. Improving Hogan Lot and Hogan Road can propel us in the right direction.

‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ is blatant historical revisionism Video game unethically rewrites history in favor of the U.S.

By XAVIER CULLEN Contributing Writer

It seems that every new installment in the “Call of Duty” franchise brings along some kind of controversy — from the “No Russian” mission in which the player can participate in a mass shooting in a Moscow airport in “Modern Warfare 2,” to tweeting fake terrorist attacks to promote “Black Ops III.” This time, Infinity Ward, the creator of the “Modern Warfare” series, is accused of altering the history of a horrible killing during the Gulf War in its latest video game, “Modern Warfare,” released on Oct. 25.

In 1990, the United States planned to invade the oil-rich country of Kuwait in an attempt to drive out Iraqi soldiers led by dictator Saddam Hussein. Kuwaiti forces had failed to hold back Hussein and his military, so the United States launched Operation Desert Storm and officially drove back the invaders. This would mark the beginning of the Gulf War. On the night of Feb. 26, 1991, a six-mile-long convoy of Iraqi soldiers began retreating from Kuwait, in compliance with UN Resolution 660. It should have been just a simple victory for the United States. They got exactly what they wanted: Iraq troops out of Kuwait. But that wasn’t enough, it seems, because as Iraqi troops began driving back to Iraq, U.S. fighter jets bombed the six-lane highway. The bombing trapped all the vehicles inside and created a massive traffic jam.

After nearly 2,000 vehicles were stopped, air forces began firing. One U.S. pilot described the event as “shooting fish in a barrel” as the people were slaughtered with nowhere to escape. After the bombings, ground troops were sent in to clean up any loose ends, and any vehicles that managed to escape were hunted down.

It is a war crime under the Geneva Convention to attack retreating troops.

Pictures of the charred remains of the murdered were taken, but many newspapers and magazines refused to publish them.

The massacre went unreported for years and was virtually unknown to the public.

Worst of all, many believe that some of the dead were Palestinian and Iraqi civilians. Burnt children’s toys and household goods were found in the wreckage, and among the vehicles, hundreds of non-military cars and buses were destroyed.

“It was obvious that the convoy included not only limited lorries, but civilian vehicles: battered Toyota vans, Volkswagens, motorbikes,” Australian journalist John Pilger wrote in his article for TruthDig. “Their occupants were foreign workers who had been trapped in Kuwait: Palestinians, Bangladeshis, Sudanese, Egyptians and others.”

Joyce Chediac wrote in a report to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal, “What all of this

PHOTO FROM ACTIVISION PRESS

‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’ topped $600 million in sales in its first three days following its release.

amounts to is not a war but a massacre.”

This same atrocity is mentioned in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” but with a completely different angle.

In the game, you play as a CIA officer, Alex, helping rebel forces fight back against Russian occupation in the fictional country of Urzikstan. The rebel leader, Farah, describes to the officer her plan to drive back the Russian invaders in the game’s mission, “Highway of Death.”

“If (the Russians) try to escape to the mountains, there is only one road,” Farah said. “Tariq Almawt’, the Highway of Death.

The Russians bombed it during the invasion, killing the people trying to escape.”

The game completely changes the story and blames Russia for the United States’ own atrocity. Why would Infinity Ward lie about the events that took place?

There is no chance that it was accidental. The game mentions “Highway of Death,” the map is identical to the real life area and description lines up perfectly. Only the blame has changed. The developers knew that the U.S. bombed those people, and they purposely chose to cover it up.

This intentional revision of the war crimes committed by the U.S. is unethical for a video game that prides itself on being realistic, and its blatant lies can be very harmful to a younger audience that plays these types of games.

“Modern Warfare” has sold $600 million in copies of the game in just the first three days — that’s the largest launch in “Call of Duty” history. With the average player base of these games being younger men who weren’t born before 1991, the mission might fly over their heads, and they will just continue to assume that the Americans are always the good guys and that the Russians are always the bad guys. This whitewashing of America’s crimes is not new, though.

Colin Powell, secretary of state under the Bush administration, led the coverup of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam when he was in the military. U.S. troops murdered up to 500 unarmed Viatnamese civilians, where rifleman Michael Bernhardt witnessed troops kill elderly people, children and many other harmless innocents.

“I saw them shoot an M79 grenade launcher into a group of people who were still alive,” Benhardt said. “But it was mostly done with a machine gun. They were shooting women and children just like anybody else.”

It is considered “the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War.” Only Lieutenant William Calley Jr., the man who gave the order to kill, was convicted and was only forced to serve three and a half years under house arrest. It took a whole 20 months for the massacre to be known to the public, and it has already been forgotten about by many people in the U.S. We cannot afford to be misinformed on the crimes our country has committed. Too many people still view America as having the role of the “peacekeeper” and the “savior” to needy countries, but, in fact, we are no better than the dictatorial regimes in the Middle East.

“What sort of society would America be if its soldiers were free to rape, pillage and plunder in current and future wars,” Major Dan Sjursen, an anti-war columnist, wrote. “A venal empire, that’s what — which this country resembles more and more.”

Don’t be fooled by blind patriotism. America is not, and has never been, “the land of the free.” Our country has always committed these atrocities, it just rarely tells us when it’s happening.

But for the few times where we do know what happened and who is responsible, don’t forget about it.

Infinity Ward and the “Call of Duty” franchise is trying to make us forget. We will never forget the countless beheadings and executions by ISIS and other terrorist organizations, so why should we conveniently forget when our own troops murder innocent Vietnamese in My Lai in the same exact way?

“Call of Duty” promotes the exact sort of blind patriotism that the government wants us to believe. USA equals good guys, Russia equals bad guys. But foreign politics is never that black and white, and a video game series that wants to portray itself as being realistic should know this.

6|Arts and Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

November 6, 2019

Arts & Life

Stress can wait–

masturbate

Masturbation should not be viewed as forbidden or inappropriate, but as the key to success

By JANNA MARNELL Creative Director

Masturbation is not something people want to talk about. We almost expect men to do it, but what about the women who have to keep their pleasure on the downlow?

Masturbation has existed since basically forever. The great American author, Mark Twain, even said, “Give me masturbation or give me death” in his lesser-known novella,“On Masturbation.”

As college students, we tend to indulge in risky behaviors like recreational drugs and alcohol to alleviate stress. Some students turn to sex for relief, but this can be particularly risky and comes with the potential to contract and spread sexually transmitted infections (STI) and cause unwanted pregnancies.

The magical question: What is a cheap, easy way to reduce stress that doesn’t encourage students to engage in risky behaviors?

Masturbation.

When comparing college campuses on television to Quinnipiac’s campus culture, we can see similar trends of students abusing marijuana, ADHD medication and alcohol to reduce stress or for artificial focus to fuel all-nighters at the library.

The “simple” advice for college students to get through their four-year degrees is by meditating daily, relieving stress with hobbies off campus or going to New Haven conveniently shutting our brains off. But who has time for that? When students have to focus on upcoming exams and projects that they haven’t worked on because they’re drowning in other assignments –– there’s no time to meditate. Not to mention the part-time jobs and the sleep students’ need.

According to a 2001 independent study from Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine, only 11% of college students consistently sleep well.

Quinnipiac University has 7,425 undergraduate students, that translates to roughly 814 students who consistently sleep well.

According to medicalnewstoday.com, adults ages 18 to 64 are supposed to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation symptoms begin to show in college students who get fewer than suggested. These symptoms include mood swings, depression, irritability and lack of motivation. Loss or lack of sleep can also alter students’ attention and the ability to focus, which can cause accidents like car crashes.

But students don’t have to search far for a solution, the answer is just behind a closed door. Sexual exploration like masturbation can benefit not just students but everyone’s busy life.

“Studies have shown that sexual intercourse can also improve sleep,” according to medicalnewstoday.com. “After an orgasm, the body also releases higher levels of a hormone called prolactin, which is known to play a key role in sleep.”

Prolactin and oxytocin, a hormone released after orgasms, can decrease the effects of high cortisol levels, which can cause increased stress levels. Prolactin can also raise dopamine levels which helps with sleep and decreases pain.

Licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) and sex therapists agree that masturbation encourages a healthy lifestyle, according to Healthline.com.

Kelley Kitely, the LCSW and Chicago-based women’s mental health expert, encourages readers to remember the best orgasm, or non-orgasmic, experiences they’ve ever had. Then remember what they were thinking in that exact

moment. She emphasized that the thought was not about the stress of a job or a to-do list. Sex and masturbation can help alleviate stress and focus on pleasure.

Board certified clinical sexologist, Debra Laino Ph.D, also said orgasms can improve behavior and lifestyle.

"Orgasm issues often have their roots in stress, anxiety and negative self-talk. Leave all stress at the (bedroom) door by doing something that relaxes you,” Laino said. “You can try yoga, meditation or whatever gets you in the zone. That should prep you (and your libido) for anything.”

Brown University’s student newspaper, the Brown Daily Herald, did its own research. Since discussing masturbation can be uncomfortable and private to the respondents, the newspaper kept its polls anonymous.

Through anonymous polls, the Brown Daily Herald found that 26% of students said they masturbate once or twice a week, while 17% of students masturbate three to five times a week.

"

Through masturbation you discover what you like and do not like. You learn how to love yourself, every inch of you. This self-confidence can have a big impact in college and beyond.

"

- Janna Marnell Creative Director

Cosmopolitain independent writer, Krista McHarden, documented her own experience in, “I Masturbated Every Morning Before Work, and Wow, Was It Amazing.”

Every morning McHarden would masturbate before work and said she felt instant relief. She said some mornings she wanted to crawl back into bed after.

Before she began the experiment, McHarden said she was too stressed to remember her orgasms, even with her husband. But by the end, McHarden noticed her posture improved and her increase in confidence. When bad things happened, she didn’t go to the bathroom to cry, but hoisted herself up and confidently finished her day.

Masturbation should not be taboo, especially for women.

McHarden’s self research shows that masturbation can clear the mind and even help with posture, which can improve anyone’s stressful day, making them more productive and confident.

As college students, sex can be especially risky, and comes with the potential to contract and spread sexually transmitted

QUCHRONICLE.COM/ARTS-AND-LIFE ARTSLIFE@QUCHRONICLE.COM

weig

stre

ht

ss

mon

ey

gra

d ua

ti n

g

tim

e

anx

gra

ie ty

d es

slee

p

DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY JANNA MARNELL

infections (STI) and cause unwanted pregnancies.

Some sex education programs preach abstinence as the best form of birth control. Nonetheless, not having a partner won’t stop you from feeling the bliss of relief. You can masturbate.

And choosing not to masturbate is totally cool, too. But some of the alleged downsides or side effects of masturbation are myths — hairy palms, blindness and infertility — and have been proven false by various studies.

These stereotypes can cause people who grew up with strong cultural or religious beliefs to feel guilty after masturbation. But remember, masturbation should not be a shameful act, but rather a self-positive experience.

That is not to say there are no negative effects of masturbation. Excessive masturbation, for example, can cause decreased sexual sensitivity.

However, learning how your body works can improve your confidence with your body. Through masturbation you discover what you like and do not like. You can learn how to love every inch of yourself. This self-confidence can have a big impact in college and beyond.

In “On Masturbation,” Twain’s character, Queen Elizabeth, called masturbation a “bulwark,” or the security of virginity. Twain also quotes the immortal Franklin expression, “masturbation is the best policy.”

Masturbation should not be considered bad or dangerous — but rather stress-relieving and a natural way to improve sleep, especially for college students.

The next time you are feeling overwhelmed about that big exam or five-page essay, remember that you have a helping hand.

November 6, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

7|Arts and Life

ALL THE ‘RAGE’ THESE DAYS

Auditions for the Quinnipiac University spring musical 'Rage' will begin mid-November

By MELANIE CARERI Contributing Writer

This year, Quinnipiac University will be putting on its spring musical, “Rage,” which is based off of the Stephen King novel of the same name, about a school shooting. Beth Dinkova, the director of the musical and an alumna of the Yale Master of Fine Arts directing program, knows King and was given his permission to adapt the book into a play format.

Quinnipiac’s theatre program director and professor Kevin Daly, was hesitant about performing the sensitive material at first but Dinkova convinced Daly to move forward with the production.

“This is a problem in this country and if artists and educators aren’t willing to talk about it, who will?” Dinkova said.

A lot of people have been getting involved in the preparation for creating the musical. Dr. Tom Pruzinsky, a psychology professor, connected Dinkova and Daly with many sources in order to be able to put on this play. One is Scarlet Lewis, the founder of the “Jessie Lewis Choose Love Movement” that was created after the loss of her son at Sandy Hook. Another is Don Sawyer, vice president for equity and inclusion, and the last is, George Sprengelmeyer, the director of the music program and the chair of visual and performing arts.

“We’ve all been working together to develop programming that will run parallel to the production to foster the conversations about mass shootings in a meaningful way,” Daly said.

The musical will spark conversations about rage, empathy and societal healing through raising different questions that people normally don’t think about.

“What is the difference between teens who decides to commit horrible acts, and their counterparts who can write intimate and personal stories about violence (like King himself) but not enact it?” Dinkova said. “I think one of the differences is art: finding the opportunity to express yourself freely and honestly, without judgment, and to exorcise your demons, a journey all characters in the play go on. If

we can confront and heal from what makes us afraid and uncomfortable through art, (especially if we can sing about it), then we can find a way to heal.”

Daly also believes that being a part of this particular musical can be very impactful and meaningful. He believes that a student who performs in a theatre production will gain benefits that will help them after graduation.

“You develop interpersonal skills and you’re involved in high stress and a high impact environment,” Daly said.

“You’re exercising your creative and critical thinking.”

Being in a musical can also help with public speaking skills and developing empathy by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.

“Rage” calls for 11 characters and each audition is two minutes long. Auditions will be held in the Echlin Center on Nov. 19, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students will read from a monologue and sing a song that best fits and showcases their vocal skills. Even though it’s strongly encouraged that students prepare their own monologue and song, students who did not prepare will be given a monologue and song to audition with. Tracks, singing a capella or working with the accompanist can be used for the auditions.

For students who do not want to audition, but still want to be a part of the musical, there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved. Those who are interested can email Abigail Copeland (Abigail.Copeland@quinnipiac.edu).

“There are a ton of opportunities off stage as well,” Daly said If Daly could say anything to a student who’s considering auditioning for “Rage," he’d tell them to do it.

“This is the time to take some risks. You’re in college.

You’re not going to have a lot of opportunity in the future to do this type of thing,” Daly said. “Anyone who has an interest in performing arts, I encourage them to get involved.

If they have any questions they can reach out to me to talk or learn about their options.”

Tickets for “Rage” are already on sale on Theatre.QU.edu.

PHOTO FROM STEPHENKING.COM

The spring musical, 'Rage,' is based off of Stephen King's novel of the same title.

NETFLIX AND VOX’S ’ EXPLAINED’ SEASON TWO INSPIRES QUESTIONS The clever series explores intriguing subjects with a refreshing and focused approach

By PHIL AKRE Staff Writer

Netflix knows it has to feed on audience’s primal instinct of curiosity. There’s a sense of aimless wandering when looking through the vast expanses of its offerings.

Sometimes, it feels like YouTube, where users can quickly become lost in a sea of “Up Next.”

Indeed, it appears quite the following stumbled upon “Explained,” the platform’s show done in partnership with Vox. Netflix took notice, granting a second season with weekly episodes. Through five, 22-minute episodes, the series has so far picked up where season one left off. It’s quite easy to roam the show seemingly at random, with topics ranging from cults, billionaires and animal intelligence.

Audiences get asked the ultimate question — what do you want to learn about today?

It feels like “Explained” is a show that doesn’t fit a particular category, and that’s OK. In a lot of ways, it’s pretty refreshing.

There’s no host, no singular focus or overall theme. It changes from episode to episode, going deep into subjects that have somehow taken a backseat to the news cycle. Certainly, an unmentioned goal is to raise awareness for a number of social issues, such as mankind’s water crisis, as well as the gender and racial pay gaps.

The series is a reminder that complex topics don’t have to be hard to understand. Its episodes serve varying purposes, but the show succeeds in detailing how these topics are represented in the modern news landscape. Thanks to Vox, the animation and color changes help viewers digest and interpret the statistics and information they absorb. Perhaps most importantly, it aids in understanding the scale of certain issues or facts represented.

The show’s length is a major factor in its success is. The information is constantly fresh, presented succinctly and easy to follow. Viewers can binge it and walk away with genuine takeaways, or different perspectives. What viewers cannot expect, though, is to walk away with a thorough understanding of a topic.

'Explained' is a series that is produced by Netflix and Vox. “Explained” merely offers a well-rounded but brief introduction to the featured subjects. It pushes the viewer to do more beyond viewing, suggesting additional research is needed. More than anything, it gives insight on the modern incarnation of a topic, and where it may be headed in the future.

If you’re a fan of Vox, you pick up on the similarities between the docu-series and its websites trademark “explainer” videos. There’s a lot of value in presenting the topics in a clean-cut fashion, as ordinary documentaries risk blurring the episodes’ real purposes.

While the show covers topics that have long garnered media attention and legitimate research, it highlights modern trends and lifestyles. Episodes like, “Athleisure” and “Billionaires” zero in on the trajectory of both topics, while offering a brief history of how both came to be. The show is a vessel for questions to

PHOTO FROM NETFLIX MEDIA CENTER

abound, such as how coding and computing science can be used to better our world.

That in itself may be why “Explained” is a worthy watch in the toy bin of Netflix offerings. If television’s ultimate goal is to leave the viewer feeling like they learned something, then it feels like the Netflix-Vox partnership did just that. The series is informational and reflective mood offers audiences a chance to understand what a topic can become, as well as why it matters now.

Explainer series aren’t a new concept, but “Explained’” stands out as its own entity. Even though it only gives bite-sized nuggets of information on large issues, its focus and feel remain the same.

If anything, it has the capability to ignite viewers’ interest in an area where they may not have had prior knowledge. If television is meant to influence how we think about the world around us, then “Explained” serves as a valuable messenger in human curiosity.

8|Arts and Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

November 6, 2019

KANYE’S CHAOS

Kanye West’s new album is nowhere near the greatest

By TIM POWERS Staff Writer

A combination of controversy, talent, Christianity and an assortment of narcissism can make for an interesting case study and album. These are just some of the qualities that personify who Kanye West is through his new album, “Jesus is King,” which was released Oct. 25.

When we last saw the self-proclaimed “greatest human artist of all time,” he was releasing “Ye,” his unfocused and uneventful eighth studio album. It was among a collection of works that West was producing in what has been dubbed “the Wyoming sessions.”

This time around, not much has changed beyond finding a new appreciation and respect for Christianity.

In the past few years, West has been criticized more for his opinions than for his music. His defense to the resulting attempted crucifixions is that he is just being a “free thinker,” as he calls it. This is considered to be a person who shares their thoughts without the fear of being attacked. According to West, he is just presenting new ideas. This has led to West completing one of his most criticized acts, showing his support for another controversial figure who has been praised for his apparent “free thinking,” President Donald Trump. Both figures use the concept of free thinking to occupy a space of egotism that forges together an identity of being “the greatest.”

The themes and suggestions placed on this new album of God and discovering religion are interesting and worthy topics, however, West does nothing with them. Nothing new is presented or looked at in a different light. The album is consistently inconsistent, under-thought and one-note. For an artist that proclaims their power to be a “free thinker” and to have the ability to “present new ideas,” it is amazing how uninteresting this piece of work is.

Usually, West is able to come through all the trenches of being unpolished and messy with a product that is still interesting and complex. But here on this new album, West seems stuck in the writing stages. It is full of tracks that feel like unfinished thoughts seeming like he had an idea that he wanted to talk about but before he could let it finish cooking, he served it mushy.

In “Closed on Sunday,” West talks about Christian tradition of the holy day of rest. It is an intriguing concept for the artist and a seemingly important one in regard to the themes of the album.

Kanye West's released his latest album, 'Jesus is King,' on Oct. 25.

However, West chooses pedestrian and underwhelming lyrics to represent it like “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A/ You’re my number one, with the lemonade.” While these lyrics are fun, they also give the feel that West is trying too hard to be quotable, funny and maybe get some Instagram captions rather than create something of integrity.

One of the few high points of the album is the track “Selah.”

It includes a grand gospel choir that brings an operatic chaos to the proceedings, repeatedly singing the word “Hallelujah.” With each time it is spoken, the velocity and intensity increase, creating a moment of surreal tension. If anything, this song is the true soundtrack to West’s current predicament, an artist trying to find differences on a grand and public stage. He relents his talents, his words and his powers to the world dramatically and loudly. At times, the song sends shivers down the spine with its intensity.

Despite an overall depressing execution, West’s adoration and admiration for God on “Jesus is King,” is something we rarely see from the artist. Few time we have seen West publicly talk with such passion about a subject than on this album and on this scale

SCREENSHOT FROM APPLE MUSIC

about Christianity. If you were to make a list of all the times we saw him talk with a similar tone and a similar scale we would end with a very short list that includes himself, his family and what awards Beyoncé has and hasn’t won.

West is a very talented artist at times, after all, he didn’t get to the position of being one of the most prolific rappers of our time for no reason. However, even the best musicians release bad products every now and then. Sometimes we get too caught up in chasing our expectations and end up stumbling over ourselves. West’s “Jesus is King,” is not the end for him and his chase, it is just a stumble along the way.

2/5 STARS

A NEW BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN EMERGES IN ‘WESTERN STARS’ FILM

Never has 'the Boss' appeared so vulnerable, reflective and appreciative

By PHIL AKRE Staff Writer

In recent years, Bruce Springsteen has embraced his desire to extend his career and creativity into totally new endeavors. First, it was his well-received autobiography, “Born to Run,” followed by his playwright debut for “Springsteen on Broadway.” That desire to the unknown has taken its latest shape in the form of “Western Stars,” his new album and feature film. By his own admission, Springsteen acknowledges he might not be quite cut out for filmmaking, but he’s sure as hell going to try.

Why shouldn’t he? He’s "the Boss" after all, but make no mistake — this is a different side of Springsteen, who recently turned 70.

The film is serious and the mood is reflective. The 93-minute production is straightforward in its structure, a live performance of the entire “Western Stars” album, split up with commentary from Springsteen about how the songs came to be. While this method can often feel repetitive early on and dim the quality of each song, the gaps between numbers feels honest. Springsteen makes one thing clear in his explanation of each, that “Western Stars” isn’t just an album, it’s the result of a life filled with hurt, fear and getting older.

Fitting the western theme, the show is set in Springsteen’s barn. Its got the complete setup, including a full orchestra, professional lighting and a private audience at his feet. Some may call it overdone, while others may believe it’s vintage Bruce, the entertainer at heart.

The film’s mood is brilliantly captured, thanks to the partnership of Springsteen and Thom Zimny, who have worked with each other since the early 2000s. Emotional shots of a somber-looking Springsteen emphasize the tones of reflection, peace of mind and redemption. The concert footage itself, while crisp and alive, can often become redundant. The audience may be small, but their reactions and energy are hardly seen.

Though the songs risk becoming individually blurred throughout the film, it’s undeniably clear that Springsteen still

has it. The performances of key tracks such as “There Goes My Miracle” and “The Wayfarer” are inspired and indeed captivating moments. His new material feels like a goodbye to the past and a warm hello to a future at peace. In his first live performance of a late-career statement album, Springsteen and his ensemble certainly hit the mark.

It’s refreshing to see him in one of his most vulnerable and understanding periods of his life. Audiences expect to see Bruce, the showman, but they won’t find that here. Instead, it’s Bruce the wiseman. It’s Bruce broken down, but he’s stronger than ever. Much like the barn, the music and the wandering shots of the new cowboy look, are simpler. Springsteen doesn’t mask that feeling, he’s loving the simple life.

As much as the 70-year-old seems to be thinking of the dark times in his past, he’s having just as much fun. By self-admission, he had no idea how the film would turn out. He just went for it.

There may not be a “Western Stars” tour, but for Springsteen, that’s OK. Going by his own pace is the new normal.

He admits he’s lost people he knew for so long, just as he reveals the many times he’s attempted to escape pain and ended up with more. It’s remarkable to see the transformation of a man who has filled stadiums for decades into a weathered, humbled statesman of rock.

Audiences shouldn’t watch “Western Stars” with the intention of seeing how the album was produced, recorded or made. The film is a reflection of Springsteen’s trials and tribulations, and why this album might be one of his most personal. The album shines bright, and it’s brought to life from this lovely addition to Springsteen’s massive catalog.

The Boss searches for togetherness, love and family. The very idea of the American life is explored. Springsteen may be exploring a new sound, but he’s exploring the very depths of his emotional capabilities through his musical gateways. To the boss, music heals all. By the end of it, we believe it too.

PHOTO FROM COLUMBIA RECORDS

The 'Western Stars' film incorporates songs from Springsteen's summer album.

4/5 STARS

Interactive|9

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

November 6, 2019 Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.78)

SUDOKU

2

TV SHOWS WORD SEARCH

3

8

9

6

3

8

6

6

6

1

8

3

7

5

2

4

4

7

6

4

1

40 by 20 orthogonal maze

4

1

9

5 3

Find us on social media.

6

4 5

facebook.com/quchronicle Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Tue Nov 5 22:24:42 2019 GMT. Enjoy!

twitter.com/quchronicle

BIG MOUTH BREAKING BAD FRIENDS GAME OF THRONES MAZE

GOSSIP GIRL GREYS ANATOMY MAD MEN ONE TREE HILL

PARKS AND REC STRANGER THINGS THE OFFICE THIS IS US

10|Sports

RUNDOWN

MEN’S SOCCER QU 4, Siena 3 - Wednesday Eamon Whelan: 3 goals, 6 shots, 5 SOGs Romain Daniellou: 2 assists, 3 shots QU 1, Fairfield 0 - Saturday Whelan: 1 goal, 3 shots, 2 SOGs Jared Mazzola: 4 saves, 0 GA WOMEN’S SOCCER QU 2, Siena 1 - Wednesday Ally Grunstein: 1 goal, 10 shots, 4 SOGs Selena Salas: 1 goal, 4 shots, 2 SOGs QU 3, Marist 2 - Sunday Salas: 2 goals, 3 shots, 3 SOGs Grunstein: 2 assists, 2 shots, 1 SOG VOLLEYBALL QU 3, Manhattan 2 - Saturday Olga Zampati: 19 digs, 16 kills Aryanah Diaz: 17 digs, 10 kills QU 3, Iona 2 - Sunday Georgia Tselepi: 18 kills Alejandra Rodriguez: 28 digs FIELD HOCKEY QU 3, Temple 2 - Friday Julianna Cappello: 2 goals, 4 shots Mack Vorel: 4 saves, 2 GAs MEN’S ICE HOCKEY Arizona State 5, QU 3 - Friday Guus Van nes: 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots Ethan de Jong: 1 goal, 4 shots Arizona State 4, QU 1 - Saturday Michael Lombardi: 1 goal, 1 shot PJ Fletcher: 1 assist, 2 shots WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY Cornell 1, QU 0 - Friday Kristin O’Neill: 6 shots Abbie Ives: 18 saves, 1 GA Colgate 4, QU 2 - Saturday Lexie Adzija: 1 goal, 3 shots Kati Tabin: 1 assist, 3 shots

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Playerpredictions predictions Player

As the Quinnipiac men’s and women’s basketball seasons approach, the Chronicle staff takes a look at some key players and predicts their statlines for the upcoming season.

RICH KELLY 15.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 5.5 APG, 47%/40%/89% Junior guard Rich Kelly set a high ceiling for the Bobcats this year. Playing all of his games his freshman year and missing five his sophomore year, he was able to improve his point production, as it was up almost two points per game (PPG).

Based on his production last year with the Bobcats in 26 games, look for head coach Baker Dunleavy to give more minutes to Kelly this year. This is due to the losses of guards Aaron Robinson, Cameron Young, and Andrew Robinson.

Last year, Kelly averaged 13.2 PPG, 4.5

assists per game (APG) and 2.6 rebounds per game (RPG). Expect Kelly to be healthy and fill a huge gap for the Bobcats at the guard position this season, as he could average close to 15 PPG, 5.5 APG and 3.0 RPG. With this, expect his field goal percentage to increase from 44.9% to 47% and his free-throw percentage from 85% to 89%.

However, look for his 3-point percentage to dip from 45.7% to 40% because he will attempt more three pointers this season than he has in his previous two seasons.

- Matthew Jaroncyk

TAYLOR HERD 9.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 42.5%/35.5%/76% With many notable starters leaving the Bobcats over the offseason, head coach Tricia Fabri’s spotlight turns to senior guard Taylor Herd.

Herd, the reigning MAAC Sixth Player of the Year, glued the bench unit together last season by contributing 7.8 points per game (PPG) and posting 10 games of at least 10 points. As she fills the leadership role of this 2020 squad, she will see plenty more offensive looks, which will only boost her 6.1 PPG career average.

Expect her field goal percentage — especially from behind the arc — to rise this season, which will bump her scoring average. If Herd focuses in on ball movement this season, her of-

GAMES TO WATCH MEN’S SOCCER QU at Rider - Wednesday, 4 p.m.

WOMEN’S SOCCER QU at Fairfield - Thursday, 7 p.m.

QU vs. MAAC Finals - Sunday, TBA VOLLEYBALL QU vs. Saint Peter’s - Saturday, 1 p.m.

QU vs. Rider - Sunday, 1 p.m.

RUGBY QU at Army West Point - Saturday, 7 p.m.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY QU at Dartmouth - Friday, 7 p.m.

QU at Harvard - Saturday, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY QU vs. Dartmouth - Friday, 6 p.m.

QU vs. Harvard - Saturday, 3 p.m.

November 6, 2019

fensive production will flourish. She has made 35.4% of her shots during her career, which is an area for emphasis for improvement this season. More assists per game could help her find open looks more often, especially behind the arc, where she has shot for 41.7% over her career. As sophomore guard Mackenzie DeWees attempts to emulate former starter Edel Thorton’s giveand-go playstyle at the point, Herd will pick up slack as the true leader of the starting five. Herd has the basketball IQ to lead her teammates, and she will have more minutes to put that into practice this season.

- Michael Clement

JACOB RIGONI 13.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 42.9%/44%/81.5% This season will feature junior Jacob Rigoni as the Bobcats’ go-to forward on offense.

His role on offense last season saw him roaming the perimeter and key as Cam Young slashed the basket but expect the 6-foot-6-inch Aussie to challenge opponents’ bigs more. That being said, his production with the corner three, shooting 41.7% behind the arc in his career, has gone unrivaled. It doesn’t hurt that his neighbor, center Kevin Marfo, will see more minutes this season under the rim. Marfo can pass the ball out to Rigoni for an open shot, or Rigoni could find Marfo on the block with a mismatched defender covering him for an easy layup.

Expect Rigoni to get more involved from the field and in the assist column this season. His field goal percentage will take a hit, but only due to the increase in shots he’ll take per game. Being a more frequent offensive option comes with its ups and downs, and one of the biggest disadvantages is that defenses gameplan against you.

Rigoni has a solid chance to become a star for the Bobcats this season, but it will only be possible if he can expand his role and drive to the basket more. Taking higher percentage looks will only add to the Bobcats’ offensive arsenal.

- Michael Clement

@QUChronSports

Brendan O’Sullivan

PAIGE WARFEL

Bryan Murphy

15.0 PPG, 6.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 45%/42%/78%

Jared Penna

@JaredPenna1 @BOSullivan25

@Bryan_Murphy10 Jordan Wolff

@JordanWolff11 Peter Piekarski

@PiekarskiPeter Matthew Jaroncyk

@Mattt_j30 Matt Travia

@Matt_Travia026 Matt Nygaard

@MattNygaard1 Megan Maharry

@Megan_Maharry

Coming off of a career year, the rising senior forward Paige Warfel is determined to produce even more. Her 2018-19 campaign proved to be a breakout year as her stats improved in a total of 13 different categories over the course of 33 games (nine starts), most notably her blocks (nine) and steals (39) totals.

Quinnipiac lost several of its top point scorers this offseason when Aryn McClure, Jen Fay, Brittany Martin, Paula Strautmane and Edel Thornton all graduated. The door for Warfel is wide open and she is prime to outscore her current career-high of 18 points each night this

season. Warfel’s scoring average nearly doubled in 2018-19 from 2.9 to 5.5. Her shooting percentage sky-rocketed last year as she finished shooting 37.5% from the field, 0.77 percentage points higher than the year before. Warfel also tacked on 17 more offensive rebounds than the 2017-18 season. Her increased playing time last season helped marinate her skill set and in-game production and it looks like this year should be another career year. Starting in nine games last season, Warfel is a shoo-in for a starting role, making this season’s potential limitless.

- Peter Piekarski

November 6, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

FIELD HOCKEY FEVER

Sports|11

Clockwise from top left: Freshman forward Eva Veldhorst dribbles into Quinnipiac’s offensive half; freshman goalkeeper Mack Vorel and the Quinnipiac defenders prepare for a penalty corner; sophomore midfielder Makayla Adams fields a pass and dribbles to the left of the striking circle; senior midfielder Inès Ruiz Martinez passes the ball to her teammate from the top of the striking circle.

BRENDAN O’SULLIVAN/CHRONICLE

3 10 22

The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team scored three straight goals to defeat the Marist Red Foxes in the first round of the MAAC playoffs.

The Quinnipiac volleyball team has surpassed its win total from last year (nine) with five games remaining.

The Quinnipiac men’s tennis team finished the Connecticut State Championships with 22 total wins over three days.

Eamon Whelan

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

BY THE NUMBERS

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

Quinnipiac men’s soccer senior forward Eamon Whelan has scored four goals over the past two games. He recorded a hat trick against Sienna, including the game-winning goal in the 98th minute. Against Fairfield, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win for the Bobcats.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

12|Sports

Sports

November 6, 2019

QUCHRONICLE.COM/SPORTS @QUCHRONSPORTS

Murphy’s Law: Crawling into conference play

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

Bobcats drop six spots in the USCHO polls before ECAC Hockey action begins

By BRYAN MURPHY Editor-in-Chief

The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team is positioned in unfamiliar territory heading into conference play.

For the first time since 2012-13, the Bobcats head into ECAC Hockey action coming off of a loss.

The Bobcats started the season with backto-back victories over AIC, followed by a disappointing split to Maine. Quinnipiac looked strong in a win against Vermont, but this past weekend, the Bobcats went across the country to the desert and were swept by Arizona State.

“It’s an easy question to answer, we did not play well,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “I could spend a day talking about what we didn’t do well. I mean in the end, we just struggled. We didn’t play well as a team in pretty much every area.”

As a result, the Bobcats have now dropped out of the top 10 in the USCHO polls, currently sitting at No. 15.

Everyone knew that this 2019-20 team was not going to be the same as the team that was No. 1 in ECAC Hockey and was one win away

from a Frozen Four appearance just one year ago. I’m not sure people expected this much of a difference.

Granted, yes, it is still early in the season.

Conference play is just getting underway.

Still, there are some glaring differences that are hard not to worry about.

We’ll start with the power play. Of course, when you lose players like Chase Priskie, Brandon Fortunato and Brogan Rafferty, the power play isn’t going to be the same. Priskie was lethal with the one timer on the left side, Fortunato had the ability to work the blue line well and Rafferty had a great shot to combine with good vision from the point.

Coming off a season where it converted on 25.7% of its power plays, which was tied for fourth in the nation, Quinnipiac is just 4-for36 to start the year. That’s good for a lowly 11.1%, that’s ranked 46th out of 60 Division I college hockey teams.

This past weekend, Quinnipiac scored just one goal on their 10 power play opportunities, including no goals off a five-minute power play. Outside of the seven shots on that power play, there were a combined eight shots

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

Junior forward Odeen Tufto and sophomore forward Ethan de Jong skate toward the puck.

on the other nine. It didn’t help that in Saturday’s contest, the Bobcats were on the manadvantage and twice took a penalty to nullify the power play.

“We’re getting good looks, I think it just hasn’t been clicking yet,” redshirt freshman forward Guus van Nes said. “As soon as we get that first one, we’ll be rolling, guys will get more confident.”

Another aspect of the game the Bobcats have struggled in? Defensive scoring.

Through seven games, the seven defensemen that have dressed have accounted for 12 of the 56 points scored by Quinnipiac, and six of those points have come from sophomore Peter DiLiberatore.

In comparison to last year, Fortunato recorded 10 points through seven games, Priskie had nine and Rafferty had seven. Quinnipiac has been known for its point production from the blue line in recent history, but the new core has gotten off to a slower start to the season.

This is mostly due to the fact that defensive group is made up of almost entirely sophomores and freshmen. With that, the focus has shifted to developing defensively before they can contribute to the offense.

“It’s pretty rare that you get that (offensive production) from defensemen,” senior forward Nick Jermain said. “I think right now, we’re not worried about that from our (defense). Our issues have been on the defensive side, and that’s obviously more important right now.

For them, they have to get up to speed and get better. We have a young (defensive) core that needs to learn the defensive side of the game before they move forward.”

It hasn’t been a slow start to the season for junior forward Odeen Tufto. He’s on pace to once again eclipse 40 points this season, a feat he achieved his first two years at the collegiate level. In the first seven games, he has nine points, which leads the team — but they’re all assists. Despite being tied for second in the nation in assists, it’s the zero in the goals column that perhaps stands out the most.

“Obviously I’ve had no goals, but I’m sitting up here not as frustrated as many of you may think,” Tufto said. “I’ve been getting chances every night. The last three, four games I’ve been getting a ton of chances.

Sometimes you’re just not going to get bounces and sometimes you’re going to go through slumps like this.

“But there’s no point in me getting frustrated when I’ve been getting scoring chances every night and making plays. That’s the type of player I am. If I keep doing what I’ve been doing, one is going to find its way.”

Tufto may not say he’s frustrated, but the emotion is there. During Quinnipiac’s 4-0 win against Vermont, early in the second period Tufto was left alone back door. Van Nes fed Tufto the puck and it looked like an easy tapin for Tufto.

Instead, the puck slid under his stick and into the corner. When Tufto came to the bench, he went down the tunnel and snapped his stick in half.

“He’ll get his goals, he’ll be fine,” Pecknold said. “He’s a really good offensive player, and (the goals) will come for him.”

Speaking of no goals, senior Alex Whelan has been held pointless this season, but that’s because he’s spent five of the seven games watching from the stands. After playing the opening AIC series, he has been out with an injury since. Whelan finished in the top five on the team in points the last two years. He’s a speedy veteran that loves to shoot — he led the Bobcats in shots on goal in 2018-19.

“In the end, we need to get (Whelan) back,” Pecknold said. “He’s one of our better players. He does a lot, power play, penalty kill, four-on-four. He’s a lot of our identity. I think it’s been good, some players have gotten more ice time, but we need Alex back in the lineup.”

It remains to be seen if Whelan will be available when Quinnipiac kicks off ECAC Hockey play this weekend against Dartmouth on Friday, Nov. 8, and then Harvard on Saturday, Nov. 9. Quinnipiac split the two-game series with both teams last season.

“Going into this weekend, we have to understand that it’s the first game of ECAC (Hockey) and this is the start of a track towards another Cleary Cup,” Tufto said. “We’ve got to go in and just buy-in and play to our identity and just try to fix around what happened this past weekend and just bring in the right effort and right attitude.”