FEBRUARY 6, 2019 • VOLUME 89 • ISSUE 16
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: DYSFUNCTIONAL KNICKS P. 6
The Chronicle’s logo is going pink for Issue 16 in memory of Leyanda DaSilva
ARTS & LIFE: GAME JAM P. 8
SPORTS: WOMEN’S BASKETBALL P. 13
Quinnipiac mourns staff member
Leyanda DaSilva, Quinnipiac Dining employee, passes away By EMILY DISALVO & AMANDA PERELLI
The Quinnipiac community is mourning the loss of one of our own, a Quinnipiac Dining employee who, according to students, served so much more than food. Leyanda DaSilva, who worked in the Café Q dining hall at Quinnipiac for over a decade, recently passed away from stage four breast cancer. Morgan Watson, Quinnipiac Dining marketing manager, expressed her sadness and appreciation for DaSilva. “Quinnipiac Dining is deeply saddened by the passing of Leyanda DaSilva. Leyanda was a member of our team for 11 years,” Watson stated in an email. “We will always remember her smile and her great connection with the students. She was well-loved by coworkers and will be missed. Our staff is wearing pink breast cancer awareness ribbons and hats this week to Leyanda’s passing.” A GoFundMe page created in 2017 shared that DaSilva was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014. She underwent chemotherapy and radiation and was cleared as cancer-free in 2016. The page raised $2,082 out of a $2,000 goal. “Leyanda went in for a check-up… when they told her that her cancer has spread to her lymph nodes,” stated the GoFundMe page. “She was diagnosed with Stage Four breast cancer, which as many of you know,
is the most aggressive.” Quinnipiac’s chapter of Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity sold over 1,000 ‘Support Leyanda, FIGHT ON!’ wristbands in 2017 and donated the proceeds directly to DaSilva. Shane Martin, junior ZBT member and Interfraternity Council President, remembers the day he found out her cancer had returned. “I was truly heartbroken and decided there had to be a way my organization and I could help be there for her financially and help support her through her time of need,” Martin stated in an email. Martin said that although the fundraiser fell short of his hopes, the relationship his organization forged with DaSilva exceeded expectations. “Although it wasn’t as much as we planned to raise for her, she appreciated it a lot,” Martin stated. “Leyanda will never be forgotten by my organization and I because she was more than just an employee at Quinnipiac. She treated every single one of us as if we were her own children.” Senior journalism major and member of the men’s basketball team Andrew Robinson looked forward to sharing bits of his day with Leyanda to chat about basketball and music. “She was really cool to the athletes and basketball players,” Robinson said. “We See LEYANDA Page 4
Leyanda DaSilva will be remembered as a kind-hearted individual.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW ROBINSON
The community reacts to the future of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum Managing Editor
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PHOTO COURTESY OF QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY
Previous President John Lahey marched with Quinnipiac throughout the 30-year sponsorship. sufficiency for the museum by June 2022. museum–lessons about hunger, oppression, She stated that keeping the museum func- political repression and immigration–are tioning is important because of how the mu- a reflection of Quinnipiac’s values,” Olian seum’s mission reflects Quinnipiac’s values. stated in the email. “These lessons are taught “The lessons embodied in the art of the in Quinnipiac’s curriculum and centers in
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Following the news that Quinnipiac has ended its 30-year sponsorship with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the community is left wondering: what is the future of Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum? “Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University is not facing imminent closure, however, its situation is serious,” Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell stated. “The university has asked the museum to become a self-sustaining institution, and is giving the museum some time to build a donor base. If the museum is to continue, it needs the support of the community.” Assumptions that the museum was closing left many confused about its future. President Judy Olian sent out a community-wide email Monday, Feb. 4 in response to the confusion, entitled “Update Regarding Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum.” In the email, she stated that the core missions are to “excel in scholarship and education” and “keeping education affordable for individuals of every background and economic circumstance.” Olian wrote that herself and the Board of Trustees established a goal of financial self-
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many forms, including through Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at the university, the Albert Schweitzer Institute, our religious affiliates, and the Lender Family Special Collection Room (An Gorta Mór) at the Arnold Bernhard Library, all of which are integral components of the Quinnipiac University learning and development ethos.” Through a spokesman, previous President John Lahey confirmed Thursday that he plans to meet with Olian to discuss the changes regarding the museum and parade, according to The New Haven Register. Lahey told the New Haven Register that, “while making clear he did not wish to criticize Olian or presume to make decisions for the school, said Wednesday he was ‘perplexed’ by the decision not to march in the parade and would consider it ‘horrifying,’” speaking personally as an Irish-American, if the museum were forced to close. Lahey also shared that the museum tells a story that pertains to the Quinnipiac community. “The museum shares a story relevant to Irish-Americans in the United States, many of whom live in Quinnipiac’s backyard in See MUSEUM Page 3
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INDEX
By AMANDA PERELLI
Interactive: 5 Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 8 Sports: 13