The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 91, Issue 2

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 • VOLUME 91 • ISSUE 2

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

BEING BLACK AT QUINNIPIAC P.6-7 ILLUSTRATION BY KARA KACHMAR

NEWS P.3: Global Public Health program

The minor program has been adapted to fit in with COVID-19 restrictions.

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ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

OPINION P.4: Come back to Quinnipiac?

Reopening schools wasn’t a safe decision.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

SPORTS P.10: NHL prospects

Two Quinnipiac alumni are climbing up the prospect ladder.

Quinnipiac Poll goes remote amid the election

Students and professors discuss the role of public opinion polls in a democratic system

By CHATWAN MONGKOL and TANNER SOYBEL

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute remains a vital source of information gathering for the upcoming presidential election despite changes in the way it operates.

Doug Schwartz, associate vice president and director of the Quinnipiac Poll, said it has been polling on the presidential election for over a year.

“We have actually already entered our busiest time of the year, including increasing the number of polls we do at once,” Schwartz said. “Over the last six months, preparations for us included selecting states to poll in that we thought would be the most interesting and important, and staying on top of the news events.”

Schwartz said the polling methodology has not changed, since the track record for polling presidential elections going back to 2004 has been excellent. One thing that changed this year is how the interviews are conducted.

Even though the university has reopened with many restrictive guidelines to prevent COVID-19 transmission, the polling institute has not reopened since its closure in March.

“We are using an outside call center that

was already set up for remote calling prior to the pandemic,” Schwartz said. “We aren’t anticipating any impact on our polling. Using an outside call center means that we have been able to continue our polling operations, basically business-as-usual.”

The polling institute has begun testing its calling capabilities, which will be available for both student and non-student employees.

Even though student interviewers have not started working on the actual survey, their training process has already begun.

Aliya Zubi, a senior psychology major, worked at the polling institute for six months during the presidential primaries. Zubi’s duties included calling a given phone number and recording the participant’s answers into a computer system. Zubi said many people thought the job was easy, but she disagreed.

“You often go hundreds of calls without getting a person willing to participate in a survey, which can be very discouraging despite it being normal,” Zubi said.

Not only that, but Zubi also had to keep the interviews going without giving out any unnecessary information as many people did See POLLING Page 2

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

The parking lots at the Quinnipiac Universtiy Polling Institute on Mount Carmel Avenue are empty as operations have gone virtual.

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The Quinnipiac Chronicle

2| News

Walking the walk

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Brendan O’Sullivan MANAGING EDITORS Jared Penna Jessica Simms CREATIVE DIRECTOR Connor Lawless NEWS EDITOR Emily Flamme ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS Chatwan Mongkol Kalleen Rose Ozanic OPINION EDITOR Toyloy Brown III ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR Michael Sicoli ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Emily DiSalvo ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ashley Pelletier SPORTS EDITOR Riley Millette ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Peter Piekarski DESIGN EDITOR Mike Clement PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Morgan Tencza PODCAST PRODUCER Xavier Cullen COPY EDITOR Nicole McIsaac 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.

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September 16, 2020

New chief experience officer, faculty and staff plan evenings to supervise residential areas

By EMILY DISALVO Arts & Life Editor

Tom Ellett, Quinnipiac University’s first chief experience officer, is looking for faculty and staff volunteers to walk the Mount Carmel residential areas to build relationships and encourage adherence to COVID-19 safety procedures.

Ellett invited all faculty and staff in an email Sept. 2, to use Sign Up Genius to register for time slots to walk around campus. The slots were every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between 9-11 p.m.

“These walks are not only to engage students, but to look at social distancing, make sure masks are being worn,” Ellett said. “It is a reinforcement of our expectations to get us through the semester healthy and successfully as a community.”

While some professors have concerns about student privacy, others think a little extra surveillance is necessary during this time.

“I think it’s everyone’s job to make sure that we are all social distancing and wearing our masks,” said Aileen Dever, associate professor of Spanish. “It may be that someone doesn’t realize that they have their mask on their chin instead of covering their mouth so another student or a professor can gently point that out. Helping us all stay safe means staying on campus and proving how responsible and mature our students are.”

The walks started on Sept. 3. Each night has about two sign ups so far, ranging from professors, to associate deans to the provost, Debra Liebowitz. The sign-ups go through Oct. 10, and every day has at least one participant.

A statement from the Quinnipiac administrative team supports Ellett’s initiative as another way to support the “Pact” that all students signed before coming to campus, promising to follow COVID-19 procedures.

“Given the added precautions because of COVID-19 this fall, actively engaging with students and walking around campus is a way to both role model the right behaviors and enforce the policies in place for the fall,” said John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, in a statement.

Students are unsure about whether this additional surveillance is necessary. Junior health science major Jamielyn Iquina said she would want some way to identify that those circulating residential areas are faculty or staff.

“If they wear a mask that can identify them as faculty or staff, it may make it less suspicious if they weren’t,” Iquina said. “A mask can easily disguise anyone that isn’t a student.”

EMILY DISALVO/CHRONICLE

Tom Ellett, chief experience officer, has been hosting evening engagement activities for first-year students at Quinnipiac.

Other students acknowledged the tendency of young people to stretch the regulations when no one is monitoring.

“I think some of the regulations go beyond science into paranoia, but people are way too irresponsible,” said Alex Overzat, senior history major.

Morgan said in his statement that these walks are part of demonstrating that everyone at Quin-

The journalist from The Atlantic, Zeynep Tufekci, who did not respond to a request for a comment, argues in her article that this type of high-level surveillance will actually cause students to act out more.

“Knowing that they are being tracked, some students will no doubt let their phone ‘sleep’ peacefully in their bed while they party elsewhere,” Tufkekci wrote. “If a few get sick, they may hide it, for fear of having their tech trickery found out. This is an extra challenge with the college-student cohort because many of them either experience COVID-19 as a mild illness or are CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER completely asymptomatic, but still seem to transmit the nipiac is committed to staying safe on campus. virus efficiently, unlike young children. Uni“This ties directly to the language of ‘The versities will likely be hindered in their crucial Pact,’ which acknowledges the impact our accontact-tracing efforts as students will be intions have on each other and the role we each clined to lie.” have in keeping our Quinnipiac community Quinnipiac’s app only prompts students safe from the spread of COVID-19,” Morto report symptoms, but overall administragan said. “I guess you can say we are literally tion is relying on students to make good dewalking the walk.” cisions about where they go and how they At other universities, surveillance over stuspend their time. Having a group of faculty dents during COVID-19 is much more extreme. and staff walk around is just a part of enforceAccording to an article in The Atlantic, a small ment, some students argue. school in Michigan is requiring students to install “These are policies we agree to adhere to an app that tracks their location. The University by coming to QU, so their enforcement would of Mississippi has an app that tracks when stube implied,” said Nicholas Ciampanelli, junior dents come in and out of buildings. economics and political science double major.

“It is a reinforcement of our expectations to get us through the semester healthy and successfully as a community.”

— TOM ELLETT

Scauso: ‘Scientific polling is vital to democracy ...’

POLLING from cover not answer the questions in a straightforward manner.

Though Zubi is not employed by the poll this semester, she stressed the importance of the polling institute and its work.

“I feel as though the work done by the polling station is incredibly important,” Zubi said. “It is important to Quinnipiac itself because it has become the thing we are most known for. It gets the name of our university out there and helps us to become more known by the general public.”

In addition to being a vital part of the university itself, Zubi said the polling institute is also a significant national resource for election news.

“For the democratic debates held last year, the Quinnipiac Poll was one of few polls used to determine whether a candidate had enough popularity to be allowed to debate,” Zubi said. “This is the largest way our

poll influenced the election.”

Jennifer Sacco, professor of political science, said public opinion polls play a huge part in elections from informing the candidates about their campaigns to helping scholars and the public make predictions of the outcomes. Sacco said they can also offer an additional snapshot of public opinion against which vote totals can be compared.

Scauso said a few things can be indicated if the vote totals and the public opinion poll results are significantly different — change of voter’s mind, dishonesty when answering surveys, flaws of the polling methodology and interference of the vote totals.

“Scientific polling is vital to democracy especially when you suspect there are attempts to undermine the true vote,” Sacco said.

Fodei Batty, associate professor of political science, echoed the assertions that the polling institute holds national importance.

“Public opinion is an important guide for learning how well a country or society is doing in a democracy,” Batty said. “Elections

alone are not enough because they rarely focus on specific issues and do not convey the reactions of voters to specific policies in between one election and the next.”

Batty said there would be no real democracy if public opinion polls like Quinnipiac’s did not exist in an election process, as they help to transmit voters’ opinions and preferences to decision-makers in a democratic system.

“Thus, if polling did not exist, any election would (be) like one in an authoritarian regime,” Batty said.

With the presidential election coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Sacco said the future of the republic and the Constitution is at stake and encourages young people to vote.

“Students should pay attention like their futures depend on it, because they do,” Sacco said. “Get your news from a wide variety of reputable sources, know that just because you read something popular on the internet does not necessarily make it true, make sure you are registered to vote — today.”

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 16, 2020

News |3

Going green

Sustainability is still a priority even amidst a pandemic

By ANYA GRONDALSKI Contributing Writer

The Quinnipiac University Sustainability Planning Committee held a town hall forum on Zoom on Wednesday, Sept. 9, outlining its seven major recommendations, which will be presented to the school’s Board of Trustees on Sept. 15.

Courtney McGinnis, associate professor of biology and co-chair of the committee, began the meeting by establishing the committee members’ vision.

“In alignment with the university’s strategic plan, our community will advance environmental sustainability by being a model steward for our own natural resources,” McGinnis said. “By educating our students, faculty and staff to be proactive in their efforts to advance sustainability and their professional and personal lives, we will partner with local and regional communities to achieve outcomes that support the long-term sustainability of our planet.”

There was an overflow of responses when Quinnipiac community members were asked what they wanted to see from the university in terms of functioning and thriving in a more sustainable way. The committee members focused on seven main recommendations that would hopefully lead the

university on the right path toward “bigger picture” success, according to John Reap, associate professor of mechanical engineering and member of the committee.

“One thing to remember about a strategic plan is that it’s strategic, that the idea is not to focus on any particular smaller initiative, but to think of the big moves the university needs to make towards sustainability,” Reap said.

These seven signature recommendations include the implementation of environmental studies majors and the integration of climate change into the university’s essential learning outcomes. An Office of Sustainability on campus is needed and was highlighted during the meeting. It would oversee the implementation of a greener future at Quinnipiac.

Ephemia Nicolakis, a first-year public relations and graphic design double major, joined the call because she is working toward her Girl Scout Gold Award for sustainability in religious communities.

“I thought QU’s approach was great and they have a lot of great ideas to implement,” Nicolakis said.

Others were more critical of the lack of specific intentions to include diversity in these conversations. Carol Awasu, professor of social work, commented in the chat asking about Quinnipiac’s efforts to acknowledge

“One thing to remember about a strategic plan is that it’s strategic, that the idea is not to focus on any smaller initiative.”

— JOHN REAP

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL ENGINEERING

and remedy the connections between environmental sustainability and anti-racism.

“What QU connections are recommended regarding linkages to local, regional communities who are working on these issues and are also inclusive of the work of POCs?” Aw a s u asked.

Sean Duffy, professor of political science and chair of the committee, responded by referring to the three main pillars of the project — living, learning and leading sustainability within the campus community.

“I think our strategic plans have allowed us to try to create at least a little bit of connectivity between, or this intersectionality that you mentioned,” Duffy said.

“The strategic plan directly addresses the

way that Quinnipiac intends to be an open, inclusive and equitable community. And trying to think about how this sustainability initiative connects to that part of the Quinnipiac plan is one way to address or to try to connect with the crisis in equity and inclusion in our society.”

The sustainability committee closed by sharing its plans to make sustainability prominent at Quinnipiac through increasing social media presence on Instagram @qusustainability and spreading the word to students and faculty.

McGinnis held firm to the committee’s missions.

“Regardless of what field a student chooses to be in, we have to do our best work by educating around the issues about sustainability, about inclusion, about access to resources that vary depending on the environment that you live in,” McGinnis said.

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Global public health during a pandemic Global Public Health program changes with COVID-19

By KALLEEN ROSE OZANIC Associate News Editor

The Global Public Health (GPH) minor program faces difficulty this year due to COVID-19 restrictions and has had to suspend study abroad experiences for the foreseeable future.

“I was not able to study abroad in the GPH program because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ashley Deveau, a third-year biology 3+1 major and GPH minor. “I would have gone to the Philippines this past June

and compared and contrasted the healthcare system in the capital city of Manila to the healthcare system on a remote island.”

The GPH minor usually requires a month of study abroad to supplement students’ education in global public health, according to Dr. David Hill, director of the GPH program, who is also a member of Quinnipiac University’s COVID-19 task force and professor of medical sciences.

ILLUSTRATION BY KARA KACHMAR

Students must apply to the GPH program due to the process of providing funds for studying abroad as well as the amount of work students have to do within the minor, according to Hill.

The pandemic presented challenges in the learning dynamic of the program. The departments of political science and philosophy have changed the GPH curriculum to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions.

While the program will see what next year brings in terms of study abroad opportunities, an alternative in place is students selecting the country they would have traveled to and completing a research project, Hill said.

When the GPH program was first created, Hill said, up to $2,500 funding was available to each student so that financial burdens would be less of a barrier. Now, COVID-19 restrictions are a barrier to students in the GPH program.

“I do see global public health differently in light of COVID-19,” Deveau said.

“Through the COVID-19 pandemic, I have witnessed the difficulties faced due to politics and lack of resources when implementing health initiatives. Also, I have learned about how this novel pandemic has hindered the eradication and treatment programs for other diseases.”

This global awareness and understanding of global health is essential to the GPH program.

According to Hill, COVID-19 and recent social and cultural movements have put global public health in a tense position.

“You have this dichotomy of trying to keep this Quinnipiac bubble safe and then trying to burst it for global public health (studies),” Hill said. “But I think with COVID we just want to reemphasize … that we need to engage with the complexities of our society.”

Hill said that viewing the pandemic and global public health through the lens of so-

cial disparity is important. “(COVID-19) has illustrated and shined a light on the greatest tyrannies we have in our country,” Hill said. “America is a great country but we have some of the many challenges that are experienced in low-income countries, and they have less resources to deal with it.

We have all the same problems of violence and stigma and marginalization of certain groups, so I think that we can continue to learn about those (issues) and understand how we as individuals, as a country and as a university can learn to address those (issues).”

These interdisciplinary topics are incorporated into the classroom setting; according to the GPH minor summary, the minor curriculum emphasizes knowledge of human cultures through study in natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts, critical thinking skills and real-world application of knowledge.

“Even though I didn’t get to travel abroad with the minor, I still learned a lot about healthcare issues in other countries,” Deveau said. “We also had guest speakers in the class that talked about their experiences in the field, which was really interesting. These components also highlighted areas of focus we could study within the broad and interdisciplinary spectrum of global public health.”

The GPH program leaders will remain aware of COVID-19 to gauge future study abroad opportunities for students in the program.

“Hopefully next summer we’ll have a vaccine and, looking at the prevalence and incidents of COVID cases around the globe, we could send our students (abroad),” Hill said.

According to Hill, the GPH program admits approximately 20 students per year.

The application is open until Sept. 27, at 11:59 p.m. For more information, visit myq. quinnipiac.edu/globalpublichealth.

4| O p i n i o n

September 16, 2020

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Opinion Quinnipi-back

Colleges reopening was not the safest decision

GRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS

By MAGALI AGUILAR Staff Writer

Although it feels like a lifetime ago, I still remember reading the email from President Judy Olian that said students would not return to campus until March 22.

It was spring break 2020. People were either at home or on vacation, and while COVID-19 was all over the news, no one knew how serious it would become. In the United States, wearing a mask wasn’t mandatory in many states when students left Quinnipiac University for spring break, but that would soon change.

I’m from New York and although it was one of the states that was hit the hardest, COVID-19 has heavily impacted the whole country. Over 6.5 million people in the U.S. have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 194,000 people have died as of Sept. 15, according to a New York Times database.

The rate of infections has steadily decreased over the past few weeks, but the threat of a second wave brings up a very important question: should we return to normalcy?

Although life will not be the same as it was before the pandemic, colleges around the country, including Quinnipiac, are an example of how things are starting to return to normal. Some schools returned to in-person classes a few weeks ago, however, Quinnipiac held off until Labor Day, when in-person classes were held for the first time since March. As someone who was affected by COVID-19, I have to disagree with Quinnipiac’s decision to reopen.

Quinnipiac gave students the option to complete the fall 2020 semester virtually, but after experiencing virtual learning for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester, a majority of students decided to return because of the challenges and difficulties that come along with it. Although virtual learning can be difficult, it’s the school’s responsibility to do what is right and prioritize everyone’s safety.

PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Northeastern University dismissed 11 students without tuition reimbursement after disobeying the school’s COVID-19 guidelines.

While it is understandable that students want to return to campus for in-person learning, it’s not in people’s best interests to do so. There are students coming from around the country, and COVID-19 infection rates are higher in some states than in others. Additionally, Quinnipiac can’t be sure of all students’ whereabouts or what they were doing before they returned to campus.

Although testing all students before and after their arrival is a great safety measure, it doesn’t guarantee with 100% certainty that all students will remain COVID-19-free. The fact that Quinnipiac has not required testing for its faculty and staff leads me to question whether it actually tested all of its students or not. Even if it has tested all students, there is no way of controlling what those students will do once they’re on their own.

NBC has reported that at the University of Alabama, over 600 students have been punished for breaking the school’s COVID-19 guidelines. Several of those students have been suspended, but suspending a student is not going to undo what the student has already done. COVID-19 can be asymptomatic in some people, so students could have been infected without knowing it and exposed a friend or peer to the virus.

At Northeastern University, 11 students were dismissed for gathering at the Westin Hotel, a hotel near the school’s campus that is temporarily being used to house students. The students will not be allowed to complete the semester virtually and they will not be refunded the $36,500 they already paid toward tuition. According to the Boston Globe, the students will be able to contest their dismissal, but this only serves as one example of what could happen as a result of students returning to campus.

Students are not the only ones at fault here, though. Col-

leges around the country needed to reopen after losing thousands of dollars when students moved back home early in March. As the virus continues to spread, high school seniors might have decided to take a gap year or defer their admission to schools, resulting in lower enrollment rates.

Typically, colleges increase their tuition a little bit each year, but due to the financial hardship a lot of families are facing, it wasn’t right to increase tuition rates. Some people have advocated for the lowering of tuition, especially for students who are completing the fall semester virtually because in-person and virtual learning provide different experiences.

Virtual learning was a new experience for many students, and it has proven to be difficult for some. It’s often hard to find motivation to participate in class from your own home and some institutions don’t have the proper training or technology for their instructors to teach class via an online platform like Zoom.

Although having a hybrid learning model for students who are on campus could reduce the number of people who come in contact with one another each day, this leaves professors and students at a disadvantage. Students’ alternating schedules can be confusing while professors can be left with only a handful of students in person or even none at all. Simultaneously, Zoom makes it difficult to do group work and some students may not even have access to the necessary technology.

Online learning is not ideal for students and can be very difficult for many, but safety comes first when the country is facing a pandemic. It’s better to be safe and cautious now, so that we can return to normalcy sooner without the fear that there will be another outbreak.

September 16, 2020

Opinion|5

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Selflessness with a side of voting

Does 2020 have you down? Here’s my recipe for coping

By EMILY DISALVO Arts & Life Editor

The White House released a model predicting COVID-19 will kill 200,000 Americans by Oct. 1.

Police have killed 781 people in 2020 so far, according to mappingpoliceviolence.org.

At least 190 people died in Beirut, Lebanon as a result of an explosion that wrecked homes and buildings.

Chadwick Boseman died of a silent but painful struggle with colon cancer.

Wildfires rage in California, claiming 24 lives so far.

The year 2020 is thrown around on Twitter as somewhat of a curse — a malfunction in the DNA of the universe.

The world is mourning, and you are a college student

at a private university in Connecticut who has been told to wear a mask, limit social gatherings and follow a few simple rules. So, why are you complaining?

The year hasn’t been easy for anyone. But it is time to be selfless.

If you find yourself thinking, “I deserve to attend this social gathering because this year has been tough,” rethink that sentiment. Consider some other things that happened this year, and cancel your plans.

If you find yourself thinking, “I deserve to take my mask off around my friends because I wear it all the time,” think outside of yourself. Think about public health. Take notice of your friend going home to her elderly grandmother this weekend, and wear the mask.

If you find yourself thinking, ‘These rules about visitors and parties and social distancing are stupid and arguing that this is your college experience that you deserve to enjoy,’ consider the students at countless schools across the United States that decided to do online-only education and be thankful you are here at all.

In a time of grief, tweeting “Fuck 2020” on Twitter isn’t going to help your cause.

It’s only going to get you and others bummed out about a situation that isn’t half as bad as it has been for others.

If you find yourself feel-

ing like this, take a step back and make room for the people who actually have a reason to hate 2020. Think about Vanessa Bryant and her kids who lost their husband and father, Kobe Bryant, as well as daughter Gianna Bryant.

Think about the countless families with holes in them due to COVID-19, some of which never got to say goodbye to their loved ones in nursing homes. Think about people whose homes were destroyed by fires and floods. Make space for the families of victims of police brutality to speak and share their stories, rather than filling the space with your mask woes.

It is time to be selfless. And it is also time to vote.

If 2020 got you down because of the horrible stream of events, trace these occurrences back to their roots.

Police brutality — the horrible treatment of Black people by police can be traced back to systemic racism that has existed in the U.S. since our founding and perpetuated by President Donald Trump. Let these voices be heard and vote.

Crazy hurricanes and fires — this extreme weather is the result of climate change. Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord. Do your research and vote.

People in other countries have seen weeks without new COVID-19 cases. The U.S. on the other hand, never came down from the first wave because of Trump’s inability to form a nationwide response strategy. Think outside yourself, wear a mask and vote.

It’s September, and it is time to realize that 2020 isn’t going to be a shining spot in our scrapbooks or our Instagram timelines. Instead of mourning, complaining and clogging the air with petty grievances, be selfless. Think about those who have it worse and channel that anger you feel into voting.

This year was bad for a reason, and that reason was a president who lacked selflessness.

Find it in yourself.

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No purpose in political parties Political parties are a main cause of the division within the United States

By ISABELLA MCCLARY Contributing Writer

Former President John Adams notably shared his fears about hyper-partisanship in the United States, fearing “... a division of the republic into two great parties ...This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”

The United States has now become the divided republic that the Constitution’s framers feared. This has created a deep divide within the country, where people are unable to accept one another and their differing views. Thereafter, causing not only society to fail at reaching an agreement on policies and issues, but more importantly, our political leaders.

The two-party system has existed for centuries, with an initial purpose to ensure that Americans felt that they were heard and represented accordingly. However, now more than ever, its current standing is focused on conflict and gaining power.

As soon as there is hyper-partisanship, there is a divided government — which means that there are people unwilling to settle on issues or policies for the state — who would rather focus their energies on undermining the opposition.

There is no compromise — just resistance.

The consequences of political parties go beyond how it affects our checks and balances system. For example, an individual stating their party affiliation is enough to divide their personal relationships.

If someone were to say they are a Democrat, they would be told they are a snowflake who backs socialism and if they were to say they are Republican, they are a racist, prolife and privileged person. Despite not even stating what policies and politicians they stand by, they are grouped into the stereotype befitting the party they state. It is appalling that the way in which we view others can be entirely reshaped by

knowing which political party they are affiliated with.

Indeed, it is difficult to separate political views from your relationship with another person, as we are predisposed to think that just because someone does not share our exact views on any subject that one automatically would not align with your beliefs. However, there are solutions to this; two stand out the most.

It would be ideal to remove political parties altogether, as they are divisive and they cannot represent every moral or belief that a person has. Furthermore, both hurt the state, because politicians are not focusing on the good of the country, but rather the good of their party.

Today’s politicians spend too much time trying to undermine the opposing party or delay any progress toward the creation of laws or bills for the country. The dissolution

of political parties would solve this, as politicians would be working all together, rather than separated by party lines.

What would a party-free election look like? Foremost, the popular vote would take precedence over the electoral college. The primary elections would still take place as there could be a plethora of candidates running for office; it would be essential to have a run-off general election of two candidates with popular vote from the primary.

Moreover, the general election would be similar to the primaries as the two candidates would run against each other and the one with the popular vote would be elected into office.

Although I firmly stand with the idea of breaking away from political parties, I understand how difficult it would be to immediately do this, so there has to be another way to lessen the detrimental impact they cause on society. For example, there must be an emphasis on being openminded to others’ opinions without shutting them down at the first sign of disagreement.

Of course, there are some exceptions such as any hate speech or racism but judging a person by which party they affiliated with without knowing the exact points that they accept and follow is wrong.

People tend to stray away from facts and drive forward impulsively with emotion — a majority of the time when people disagree they tend not to listen to what the opposition is saying and just think about how to defend their one-sided view.

Learning to understand and respect one another on various topics and issues is essential to having a fairly-run government and society.

The U.S. has undergone many political reforms in its history; it is probable that this will happen again soon. One thing is for certain: if the deep hyper-partisanship that is driving the country into further divide is not resolved soon, the state will fall into even more civil unrest.

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6|Black at QU

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 16, 2020 DESIGN BY CONNOR LAWLESS

BEING BLACK AT QUINNIPIAC

Black students share their experiences at a primarily white institution

By EMILY DISALVO Arts & Life Editor

Quinnipiac University is very white.

According to qu.edu, 76.32% of the class of 2022 identifies as white. Being Black at Quinnipiac means being a super-minority — less than 5% of the population. Black students who tour Quinnipiac don’t see many students that look like them and opt for more diverse schools.. Thus, the number of Black students remains low.

Those Black students that came to Quinnipiac despite its whiteness, made the decision for a variety of reasons — finances, program offerings, location or some just simply didn’t make it on campus for a tour to fully understand its demographics.

I will introduce you to some Black students who came to Quinnipiac. While the Black population here is small, there is no homogeneous Black experience. Some transferred out, some stayed and hated it, others made it their home. Some faced racism themselves, some saw others experience racism.

As a white student, I am in no place to generalize these experiences and try to find a common thread between them, but I will say the students I spoke to, past and present, all agreed Quinnipiac has room for improvement before it is a fully welcoming and inclusive space for Black students.

Continue reading below --

Jailynn Caraballo

EMILY DISALVO/ CHRONICLE

Senior journalism and political science major

When Jailynn Caraballo first came to Quinnipiac, she clung to the Multicultural Suite for dear life. She said she isn’t the only one relying on the space. This suite in the Carl Hansen Student Center feels safe for students of color.

“They don’t really feel like there is a place for them in the cafeteria,” Caraballo said of the Black community at Quinnipiac. “Now you see more of us have to be in the cafeteria because of space restrictions in the (Multicultural Suite), but you’ll notice people of color on campus stick together. If you see a table of Black people in the cafe it’s because those people hung out in the (Multicultural) suite together.”

Staying in one’s comfort zone can cause segregation because both Black and white students prefer to congregate separately, according to Caraballo.

“It’s kind of the mentality people of color have on campus of protecting themselves,” Caraballo said. “Even though it is kind of an unconscious thought, it’s what we all do.”

In some ways, Caraballo assumes the Multicultural Suite

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The ratio of white to Black students is 38:2. Black students make up less than 5% of Quinnipiac's student body while white students make up 76.32%.

adds to the segregation issue at Quinnipiac at the expense of creating a safe place for Black students.

“It’s hard because I wouldn’t have met any of my friends if it wasn’t for the Multicultural Suite,” Caraballo said. “We take a lot of pride in it as our space, but it also feeds into the idea of us needing to stay in a corner at Quinnipiac and every other place at Quinnipiac being for the whites.”

Caraballo noticed the multitude of white spaces on campus when she toured as a prospective student.

“My tour guide did not talk about the Multicultural Suite, did not talk about students of color, did not talk about Department of Global Engagement events or organizations,” Caraballo said.

For Caraballo, being a Black student at a Primarily White Institution (PWI) pushed her to be involved on campus as much as possible.

“I can’t even think of one person of color on campus who isn’t incredibly active in their roles on campus,” Caraballo said. “We are upset because there aren’t more people to do it. The white population can afford to have a group of go-getters and a group of not go-getters. If we aren’t all go-getters people are going to be like, ‘Why are you even here?’”

Caraballo’s concern is that some of these organizations are using people of color as “tokens.”

“QU is a university that really wants people of color to come and to stay because it helps them in the long run as a university and in their standing,” Caraballo said. “But at the end of the day, they don’t really care about us. I don’t see a way in which Quinnipiac cares about their people of color.”

In the summer of 2019, Caraballo served as an orientation leader. She said they recruited her and welcomed her into the program, but on the job she did not feel respected and experienced racism.

“It was just ‘we are going to prop her up here and she is going to get more Black women and Black people to come to campus.’ Period,” Caraballo said.

To solve the problems Caraballo laid out, she suggested that Quinnipiac leaders educate themselves about race rather than asking Black students for advice.

“At this point in the country we are living in, it is not OK enough for a white woman to ask a person of color how they can do better,” Caraballo said. “They either need to educate themselves and do better or not work for a university that is supposed to uphold standards for all of their students.”

Ohidiani Imevbore

PHOTO FROM OHIDIANI IMEVBORE

Junior political science and international business major Ohidiani Imevbore, of Nigeria, attended high school at a British boarding school, so she came to Quinnipiac as no stranger to a PWI. She came because the school allowed her to major in both political science and international business, something she couldn’t find anywhere else.

However, she was somewhat aware of Quinnipiac’s racial demographics.

“I think it is kind of hard not to notice the fact that there are a lot less Black students on campus as compared to the white students,” Imevbore said. “My mom was just kind of like, ‘You have been in this situation before, you didn’t seem to have a problem with it in boarding school so you shouldn’t have a problem with it in college.’”

After the campus tour, in which Imevbore saw only three

September 16, 2020

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Black at QU|7

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Black people, she and her mom talked and decided that her focus would be on her goals and what she hoped to achieve at school, not on the race of her peers.

Since she enrolled at Quinnipiac, she noticed that the Black and white students do not interact much, but she was not sure exactly why.

“There’s a lot more white students so maybe it is just a little harder for the Black students to integrate,” Imevbore said. “There’s a stigma as well in terms of having integrated friends. I think it’s familiarity. If we are being honest, Black people are just more comfortable going up to another Black person, it’s just who you are most comfortable talking to.”

Imevbore said she has an integrated group of friends.

During her freshman year, she was placed in a quad with one other Black student and two white students, whom she is still friends with today.

“I was lucky enough to have that and also my role as a (Resident Assistant) has also allowed me to have a more diverse group of friends,” Imevbore said. “At the start of my freshman year, I only had a certain number of Black friends and white friends, but I think now it is evening out.”

Imevbore said Quinnipiac must be making an effort to recruit more Black students because she is seeing more now than in previous years.

“It’s either I am walking past them more or there are just more on campus,” Imevbore said. “When I was coming in as a freshman, I don’t want to say I could count, but I could remember the few on campus when I was a freshman. Now, it is a lot more.”

While Quinnipiac is trying, Imevbore said the school should “try harder” to recruit Black students and make it a place they want to stay. One way to do this, Imevbore said, is recruiting more Black faculty.

“In political science, there is only one Black female professor and she was my first ever Black female professor since I left Nigeria (at age 13),” Imevbore said.

Being taught by a Black woman, Khalilah Brown-Dean, was an “incredible” experience for Imevbore.

“Not only are her classes very interesting to be in, but also I like to have a female Black professor, someone who looks like me who is teaching me and is so smart,” Imevbore said. “It makes me feel proud.”

If she had the chance to go back in time, Imevbore said she’d make the same decision about coming here.

“I have made some amazing friends, my professors are amazing, I have had some amazing opportunities,” Imevbore

Eyoritse (Tori) Mojuetan

PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

Left Quinnipiac in 2019 to study medical science and developmental studies in Australia

Eytoritse (Tori) Mojuetan doesn’t identify as African American. She identifies as African. Her ancestors did not come to America as slaves, but rather experienced the loss as friends and neighbors were captured and enslaved.

Mojuetan left Quinnipiac in the spring of 2019 after just one year. As someone who grew up in Australia, which is primarily white, Quinnipiac was more diverse than what she was used to. In fact, she lived in an eight-person suite in Mountainview in which the room was evenly split between white people and people of color.

“I had been the only Black person in an entire school before so I was like, it is what it is,” Mojuetan said. “It’s America.

There should be at least one person that looks like me.”

Quinnipiac gave her a large scholarship, and she committed despite never visiting the school in person.

Mojuetan had a hard time fitting in with students in the Black Student Union (BSU) that identified as African American.

“I would talk about things that happened in West Africa, where I am from, and people would be really gross toward Africans even though they are Black,” Mojuetan said. “I personally never felt comfortable in the Multicultural Suite, but at the same time I felt more comfortable with people who were … not white.”

When it came to making friends, Mojuetan said she spent most of her time with a group of mixed race, Black and Southeast Asian friends.

“That was an easier group to sit with than the African Americans that hate on Africa, which was just bizarre to me, but it also wasn’t (a group of) the white students who made me feel very uncomfortable and weird,” Mojuetan said. “It was all just we don’t know where we sit so let’s hang out together. We’re colored, but we don’t fit in any of the other demographics.”

Additionally, Mojuetan’s academic interests did not fit into a predetermined box. When she enrolled at Quinnipiac, she was initially an interdisciplinary studies major, but when she realized that only applied to education, she tried to find another major that fit what she wanted to do.

Mojuetan hopes to one day become a surgeon focused on healthcare policy and help impoverished areas of Africa receive quality healthcare. She chose to double major in biology and an independent major she had to design herself, but she found that the classes Quinnipiac had to offer weren’t adding up to a major she desired.

While these program issues were the main reason she left, she was also baffled by what she calls “a different breed” of racism that exists at Quinnipiac.

“Most people sat in the middle where they were complicit about a lot of things, but they didn’t know they were being complicit,” Mojuetan said. “If you called it out, you were gaslighted and they were kind of like, ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’”

This was her first exposure to New England racism, which Mojuetan said is much different than the blatant racism of the South.

“The North is like ‘We’re not racist,’ but they’ve never met a Black person before so they never had a chance to be shitty,” Mojuetan said. “These people never interacted with someone like me and realized that their tendencies are just not OK.” For example, one of her professors once assumed she had never experienced racism because she didn’t identify as American. She said this American-centric focus is what frustrated her about her time at Quinnipiac. She couldn’t find classes or people that shared her world view.

“I wanted more than just America,” Mojuetan said. “I was looking for a far more international focus. That isn’t anyone’s fault per say. It’s just what I required.”

Mojuetan said she doesn't regret her one year at Quinnipiac because it changed her life. She does not fault Quinnipiac for its shortcomings — she faults the country it is located in.

“The problems that exist at Quinnipiac are not a result of Quinnipiac but America as a whole,” Mojuetan said.

Warren Webb

PHOTO FROM WARREN WEBB

Class of 2019 computer information systems major Warren Webb, of Jamaica, came to Quinnipiac blindly.

He never had a chance to travel to Connecticut to tour it, but it was the best financial option. When deciding on schools, he asked Quinnipiac for more money and when they obliged, he was sold.

“If you are willing to invest more money into someone, you’re probably making an investment in their education,” Webb said.

When he first started going to class, he didn’t notice how white Quinnipiac was. It took him a few weeks of hoping that there were still more Black people to run into to realize how few there were.

“It wasn’t until a few weeks in I was like, ‘Whoa, it’s really not that diverse here,’” Webb said. “I didn’t initially see that.”

Webb said that Black students hung out with other Black students, but also white students who they had something in common with.

“It could be you were both wealthy or in sports,” Webb said. “If you didn’t have those things in common, there was nothing really to talk about.”

Webb helped draft the plans for the Multicultural Suite in the Carl Hansen Student Center. He hoped it would help address the fact that multicultural organizations on campus did not have a designated place to meet like other groups did.

Webb also worked to establish the African and Caribbean Student Union and participated in the Black Student Union.

Despite his involvement in many aspects of campus life, including holding a position as a Resident Assistant and enjoying his time at Quinnipiac, Webb said he was frustrated by the amount of student complaints Quinnipiac needed in order to take steps to become a more inclusive institution.

This includes funding multicultural organizations and denouncing racist incidents like Blackface.

“Most of the implementations they made were based on student’s prompting them,” Webb said. “While I can admit they have made some growth, without the students’ voice they probably would not have taken most of the steps they have.”

Webb said he was also frustrated by how Quinnipiac reacts to racism on campus and in the real world.

“They have always been very passive in terms of how they respond to things that have to do with race,” Webb said.

“In terms of race and racism and things being wrong, I feel like there should be more of a clear stance against that.”

If Webb was a senior in high school right now, he said he would reconsider his decision to attend Quinnipiac.

“There’s so many factors that go into that but I would probably look at some more schools,” Webb said. “I didn’t think that it was a big deal before because I was coming from somewhere else that was predominantly Black. But now that I have come here and realized how it shaped my social life at Quinnipiac, I think I would reconsider.”

8|Arts and Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 16, 2020

Arts & Life

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Getting back to normal — safely

PHOTO FROM QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY INSTAGRAM

Quinnipiac University Intramurals held mini golf on the quad on Sept. 12. Spending time outside with friends is one way to have fun while staying safe.

Here's some activities to do safely around campus

By MATTHEW TRAVIA Staff Writer

The fall 2020 semester is in full swing, and Quinnipiac University wants to ensure that its students are safe and following the COVID-19 protocols so they can stay on campus. Here is a list of activities that you can do on campus by yourself or with your friends in a safe and fun manner.

Get out and play

First, you and a couple friends can hike Sleeping Giant.

The state park has multiple trails that you can explore. Make sure you hike to the top of the Giant before you graduate!

Next thing you can do is go for a run, walk or even a bike ride down the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail — the 81.2mile trail stretches from Connecticut to Massachusetts.

Grab some headphones, put on your favorite playlist and go on a journey.

If you want to remain on campus and still be active, grab some friends and toss a frisbee around, but make sure you remain six feet apart, of course.

Lastly, if you’re trying to lose the first-year 15, you can head over to the Mount Carmel, North Haven or York Hill

gym where you can hop on a treadmill or hit the weights.

Just make sure you book your gym appointment in advance and bring a mask.

You and a friend can sign up for a fitness class as well either at the Rocky Top Student Center, the Athletic & Recreation Center on the Mount Carmel Campus or the North Haven Campus.

Fun with Friends

Although it might be hard to do some activities with your friends, there are some things to do while making sure that you are staying safe. For instance, you can eat a meal with your friends while staying six feet apart.

“My friends and I like to eat sushi on the quad when it's nice outside,” said Lindsey Osowski, senior computer science major.

Stuck in your room all day? Got a Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch or any type of gaming console? You can play video games online or locally with your roommates.

Some video games to keep yourself entertained include, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Just Dance and many more.

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Another way to keep yourself busy is to catch up on shows or movies on Netflix. Some popular shows include, “The Office,” “Breaking Bad” and “Avatar: The Last Air-Bender.”

You can even have fun with your roommates, like junior interdisciplinary major Anusha Saco, for example.

“We have Netflix party nights in our suite,” Saco said.

Trying new things

Now is a good time to try something that is either out of your comfort zone or you didn’t think you would enjoy.

If you live in a dorm that has a kitchen, try cooking food for the first time. Just make sure you don’t burn what you’re cooking.

If you happen to have a car, you can explore the state of Connecticut or some of the surrounding states.

Not sure how to get involved more on campus? You can start your search by attending the involvement fair running from Sept. 14-18 on the quad from 4-6 p.m. There will be plenty of clubs to choose from and you can find the one that works best for you.

It is a tough time to have fun, but there are safe activities that can be done while on campus.

September 16, 2020

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts and Life|9

Back to (virtual) school

Tips for making the most of the ‘college experience’ from home, both academically and socially

By KELSEY PAUL Contributing Writer

After spending the majority of the spring 2020 semester online and at home, Quinnipiac University students were eager to return to campus for in-person classes.

That is, MOST students were eager to return to campus.

Amid COVID-19 concerns, a handful of students opted to complete the fall 2020 semester remotely. I am a part of that group, and I know that it has been challenging to navigate my first few weeks of college strictly through Zoom.

If you are in the same position as I am, or even if you just want to embrace some new habits for the new Q-Flex learning model Quinnipiac has adopted, here are some tips that have helped me remain balanced that I hope will help you, too.

Create a schedule within your schedule We all have a predetermined schedule outlining the classes we are enrolled in and when they meet synchronously.

However, the time we dedicate to classes outside of the scheduled meetings is at our disposal, so it is helpful to budget time for homework and any other obligations you might have.

It might also be helpful to print out the syllabus for each class you’re taking and write down important due dates so you don’t forget. I also like to write down my goals for the day on my whiteboard in the morning and check them off as I go. Doing so reminds me that I’m closer to my objectives and prevents me from forgetting what I have to do.

Take breaks as you work I have found that sitting down to complete four hours of homework at once is draining and hinders me from producing my best work. Complete an assignment or two and offset that work with a short break. I like to relax with whatever book I’m reading or watch an episode of “Criminal Minds,” depending on what I feel like doing that day. Whatever you choose, allow yourself to do something for at least a few minutes that keeps you balanced so you don’t lose all motivation.

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Re-watch recorded lectures and class meetings, even if you were present for class

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Go to virtual clubs/meetings/events Being at home while your friends are on campus can be extremely difficult when it comes to getting involved and meeting new people. Thankfully, most organizations, clubs and even some events are adapting to these unprecedented times by offering virtual options. So, if you’re concerned about being able to join co-curricular activities you were interested in preCOVID-19, fear not. Head over to Do You QU, sign in with your Quinnipiac credentials, and browse through the “Events” and “Organizations” sections to find extracurriculars that interest you. There’s something for everyone, and this is a great way to meet new people.

Communicate with family members If you’re learning from home like me, you probably have family members around, and if they’re also working or in a meeting, the noise may be distracting. I have found that communicating with them beforehand and exchanging schedules prevents unanticipated disruptions. Also, if you’re in a Zoom meeting and others are nearby, use headphones so you can remain focused. It’s also important to spend time with them now while you can since it isn’t every semester we can learn from home.

The experience of learning virtually is drastically different than being physically present in a classroom for a lecture and may affect your material comprehension if remote learning isn’t your preferred mode of study. Many professors, though not all, are recording Zoom meetings and lectures for access at your convenience. This is a perk that in-person learning doesn’t have — use it to your advantage. I like to take notes before and during class and enhance them by viewing the recorded class again, if possible. Everyone has different study preferences, but Keep in touch with friends if you’re like me and need that additional content review after synchronous class meetings, this is certainly an advantage of Connecting with friends in a time like this is important. having class on Zoom.

Whether you have friends who are also home and learning remotely, or have friends on campus who you can FaceTime or text, make sure you keep in touch with the people you care Hold yourself accountable about in addition to focusing on your education. Learning at Learning remotely, or at least partially remotely, may seem home means most of your endeavors — studying, watching like the greatest inconvenience yet, since you’re missing out on a movie, or even just relaxing— are solitary when they may the traditional classroom benefits. However, you may be grateful have once been spent awith others, and you may be feeling for it later on when you have a job that requires excellent time lonely. Netflix Party is an excellent way to watch movies or management and organizational skills. Take responsibility for shows in a socially distant manner with the friends who you’re your own obligations by setting manageable goals for yourself not currently around. in addition to creating a schedule. I like to write these down somewhere visible near my workspace, so I can remind myself of my long-term and short-term objectives. By being proactive, you can effectively allot time for each assignment while also leaving time for yourself to unwind.

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10|Sports

September 16, 2020

Quinnipiac alumni: NHL prospect edition

Two former Bobcats are making their way up the ladder

By PETER PIEKARSKI Associate Sports Editor

It seems unlikely that the Canucks will re-sign both defensemen given the financial implications and the Canucks’ pool of defensive prospects. The last thing they need is to logjam multiple upcoming key players in their farm system.

Fortunately for Rafferty, he appears to be the most ideal skater to fill in the empty spot. He has one more year remaining on his two-year, $700,000 AAV two-way contract, and after a superb AHL season, it makes sense for the Canucks to promote him.

As for Priskie, his pathway to the NHL is a bit cloudy. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL entry draft

by the Washington Capitals during his first year as a Bobcat.

Despite producing more than 20 points in his first three years and improving each year that he played, the Capitals didn’t sign Priskie.

During his Bobcat career, he compiled 112 points in 146 games, was named the 45th captain in program history, became a Hobey Baker finalist in his senior year, set a record for most goals by a defenseman with 39 and finished second all-time in points amongst Quinnipiac defensemen.

Once his four years were complete, Priskie signed a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes to play for their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers.

Carolina’s defensive core is widely considered one of the league’s deepest, ranked the third best by The Hockey Writers. Jacob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brady Skjei, Sami Vatanen, Jake Gardiner and Haydn Fleury led the Hurricanes to a top 10 finish in goals against as well as finishing with the fourth-best penalty kill.

Not to mention, the Hurricanes also have another capable defenseman on the injured reserve in Brett Pesce.

The average age of their defensive core is just under 26 years old, which did not create much of a pathway for Priskie. At the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 24, Priskie was traded with three other players to the Florida Panthers.

Before being dealt, Priskie’s AHL rookie season was quite productive, as he netted six goals and dished out 25 assists for 31 points in 52 appearances.

Being traded will benefit Priskie in the long run as it unlikely that he would be able to crack into the Rafferty was lineup, at least immediately.

Utica Comets His new team, the Florida Panthers, has been one Defenseman of the worst defensive teams in the league over the last two seasons, conceding the fourth and fifth most goals, respectively.

The organizational switch allows Priskie to continue to grow and not get stuck behind the current pros. He impressed immediately as he notched four points in five games before the season abruptly ended.

Priskie was invited to the Panthers training camp before the postseason began but had to suddenly leave due to a minor injury. He returned to the ice the following week.

With no clear expectations for the future season, Priskie must continue to impress head coach Joel Quenneville in order to breakthrough onto the Panthers’ roster.

For now, both Rafferty and Priskie are the most anticipated prospects to represent Quinnipiac for the upcoming season.

When the NHL restarted its season, teams were allowed to expand their rosters for training camp in case of any sustained injuries.

Two former Quinnipiac Bobcats received invites to training camp to showcase their skills at the top level. Brogan Rafferty and Chase Priskie, who played defense together at Quinnipiac from 2016-2019, each had the opportunity to prove their worth to NHL management.

During his three seasons at Quinnipiac, Rafferty recorded 60 points in 108 games, helping the Bobcats return to the Frozen Four playoffs in the 2018-19 season.

Following his junior year, Rafferty signed with Priskie the Vancouver Canucks to play for the AHL afRafferty filiate Utica Comets. The 24-year-old defender amassed 45 points in 57 games for the Comets in his rookie campaign.

Vancouver currently possesses one of the deeper prospect pools in the league. As of the 2019-20 season, Sporting News listed Vancouver as the eighth best farm system in the league.

Out of Vancouver’s top ten prospects, five defensemen are listed higher level prospects than Rafferty according to Sporting News. Rafferty was considered a tier four prospect when he signed, according to the Vancouver Courier.

Rafferty’s brilliant first professional season will go down in the record books as he recorded the most points ever by a Comets defenseman.

He was also the fourth Quinnipiac alumnus to be Brogan named to the AHL All-Star game.

Due to his impressive accomplishments, Vancouver called Rafferty up to the NHL in March of the 2019-20 season. However, the NHL suspended play due to COVID-19, thus ending Rafferty’s promotion.

Just a few months out of the delayed 2020-21 NHL season, Vancouver has a very important decision to make in terms of the right-handed defenseman.

The Canucks have Troy Stetcher, Chris Tanev and Tyler Myers headlining the right side of their defensive core. Both Stetcher and Tanev are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, meaning any team in the league is free to approach them with a contract without giving compensation.

Since the NHL won’t increase its salary cap for the next three seasons, money is tight for most teams.

As for the Canucks, they’ve already committed to a long-term contract with Myers worth $6 million over Chase Priskie the next four years, a high amount considering they Charlotte Checkers have $14 million left to sign 10 initial players due for Defenseman new contracts.

GRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS/PHOTOS FROM CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

57 57

Games Played

7

8

Goals

38

27

45

35

Assists Total Points

Chase Priskie makes an effort to clear the puck after being trapped in the corner by an opposing forward.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

September 16, 2020

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports|11

Salas: ‘I’m going to take this as a personal challenge and see if we can bring this team to the top’ SALAS from Page 12 Barcelona was dominant and Spain was world and European Champions. Not saying we don’t have players who liked the game, but they’re not immersed in it the way a player like (first-year player Courtney Chochol) is and (sophomore midfielder Markela Bejleri) is the same.”

As a freshman in 2018, Salas acclimated to the college level quickly. She tied for third in team assists with three, tied for second in points with 11 and second in goals with four.

It also helps from a personal standpoint that soccer runs in Salas’ family.

Salas shared that her brother and father dabbled in the sport, along with how she grew up with a soccer ball essentially always by her side. She started playing with her brother at 4 years old, and credits him for being willing to go to the field with her to play. Salas took a step up when she decided to play organized soccer at 5 years old.

Sports fans and sometimes parents often forget that under the jersey and cleats, a normal human walks the Earth. The world has seen athletes who lose their passion for what they’re doing or use quaratining as a chance to reignite their careers. In Salas’ case, she found cooking and studying nutrition as two hobbies she developed passion for.

“I became interested in nutrition, not only cooking, but how to use nutrition as a way to improve myself as an athlete,” Salas said.

“I wasn’t cooking to get fat, maybe this is a good time to become my own nutritionist by applying the recipes I’ve been learning.”

This would traditionally be the part of the narrative where you describe the challenges the team has with their next opponent or simply when and where that next matchup takes place. What’s so unique in this scenario is that

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Junior midfielder Selena Salas made a strong impact in her first season at Quinnipiac, recording four goals and three assists. no fall sports team at Quinnipiac knows when exactly it will return to play. But, it doesn’t change the eagerness Salas has to step back onto the field, despite not knowing when that actually is.

“I’m going to take this as a personal challenge and see if we can bring this team to the top,” Salas said. “There’s been so many improvements, we made it to the quarterfinals two years ago, the semi finals last year, I still

think there’s so much more we can give. It’s different when you’re the new player instead of being there, now I’m more confident on the field. Before I leave, I think we can get good accomplishments.”

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September 16, 2020

Sports

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Salas in Spain MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

Despite the 3,500 miles separating Selena Salas and the Quinnipiac Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium, a return to the pitch stays on her mind

By JORDAN WOLFF Staff Writer

Cooking, exercising and practicing are things one may call customary in everyday life. For Quinnipiac women’s soccer junior midfielder Selena Salas, those have become the three primary activities in her daily routine.

What a difference a year makes, as last November, Salas was at the forefront of the Bobcats’ chase to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship. Salas scored two goals to help Quinnipiac defeat Marist in the MAAC quarterfinals.

She finished the 2019 season leading her squad in points and goals with 16 each. The Bobcats also finished their season with a 10-8-1 record, the best record they’ve had since 2017 (9-7-1) and went 5-4-1 in the MAAC. Despite that, nothing is certain as progress has come to a halt. Salas should be in Connecticut preparing for her third season with a goal to bring home a championship. Instead, MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor announced in late August that fall sports would be postponed.

The announcement prompted Salas to return Spain, her home country, where she decided remote learning was her best option. However, Salas still has fond memories of what the atmosphere around her team was like.

“I thought the team was doing really, really well after the season was over,” Salas said. “The seniors left, and we built a really good team for next season. We were ready to prove how much we improved after spring break.”

An essential part of athletics is routine and structure.

Whether it’s wearing different socks, a special wristband or pointing to the sky, these types of superstitions help athletes get into “game-ready” mode. The Bobcats started practicing last week, but Salas isn’t with them. So, one may ask themselves, how do you prepare the same way without being able to play games? Salas learned there are still tricky waters to navigate.

“Some days I couldn’t find the motivation to keep going,” Salas said. “I would still try to do everything the coaches wanted me to do, but in Spain, I was in lockdown for two months. I wouldn’t leave my house at all, so for two months I’d do all the workouts by myself without any material, and it was really challenging.”

In an attempt to remedy those difficulties, Salas got creative and signed up for the club team she used to play for in high school. Salas described how going to the field and getting that sense of nostalgia gets her to that game-day place.

She also loves watching soccer on TV, so she can study the minute things professional players do. As we know, part of a professional athlete’s job is to travel to different places to play. While Salas played her high school soccer in Florida, she decided to go even further up the American East Coast to continue her athletic career in Connecticut.

Salas is one example of many Quinnipiac student-athletes

who decided to pursue a higher level of education in a country they didn’t grow up in. The 2020 Bobcats roster has eight international players, seven of them from Ontario, Canada.

Salas is the only one from Spain.

Ironically, her decision to come to Quinnipiac wasn’t based on soccer. Quinnipiac’s commitment to academics and winning gave her a balance of the two she couldn’t find anywhere else.

“I really want to focus on soccer and what’s best for me,” Salas said. “But at the same time, I really had to leave that behind and focus on academics. Do I want to wait and see if teams with more level will come to me, or do I want to go there and help this team become who they want to become?”

In women’s soccer head coach Dave Clarke’s eyes, getting Salas on his squad was a no-brainer. Beyond recognizing the onfield potential, Clarke was struck by her off-the-field demeanor.

“When we talked, we hit it off,” Clarke said. “We talked soccer, and she’s the type of player that you want to have in the program.”

Clarke followed this by explaining how Salas has that natural passion you can’t coach or teach.

“Selena is consumed with the game,” Clarke said. “She’s a Barcelona fan and grew up in Spain during a period when

Junior midfielder Selena Salas dribbles the ball into open space in the midfield.

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MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE